Using your phone to pay for your purchases at the checkout counter is the next big thing in mobile payments, and credit card companies, Google, and wireless providers are all trying to figure out how to best provide this capability.
Until this mobile payment system goes mainstream, allowing consumers to use their smartphones as digital wallets, startup iCache has come up with a novel approach to offer such services. The company has developed a Geode product, which packs a single programmable card and acts as both an iPhone case and digital wallet.
How it Works
Users can enter their debit and credit card info through an included magnetic stripe reader, attached to the bottom of the cover. To store their loyalty cards, users can simply snap a photo of the bar code using the phone's camera. Once the cards have been added, they can be pulled up and selected via a free iPhone app.
The included smart card fits into the back of the cover, and can be programmed to act as any of the stored cards. All you have to do is pick an account on the app, and the smart card will be immediately programmed with the right information. This card also contains a smart chip and magnetic stripe that can be changed according to the preferred account. To use this card a user must take it out of the back of the case and tap it once against a solid surface to activate it. The card can then be used like a regular credit or debit card. The default time for the card to work is 20 seconds, or until used, but the user can set it to remain active for up to 5 hours. After this limited time, it will resume its dummy card state.
E-ink Display, Fingerprint Reader
The Geode cover also features an e-ink display on the rear. This display can show the bar code for any loyalty card, thus allowing for easy scanning. While most scanners are unable to read normal smartphone screens, the e-ink display solves this issue. When it comes to security, the app relies on a biometric reader on the front of the cover, below the iPhone's home button. Secured through this fingerprint reader, the app will not start without the swipe of the appropriate fingerprint.
Geode, a CTIA Gem
Geode started out as a crowd-sourced Kickstarter project, raising $357,000. Presented at the CTIA Wireless show, the product quickly became a favorite and won an award in the mobile commerce category. One of the greatest advantages of Geode is that it doesn't use new technology, it doesn't require anything on the retailer part, and can be used anywhere debit, credit, or loyalty cards are accepted.
The iCache Geode acts as an alternative to the broader deployment of NFC (near field communication) technology, which allows the smartphones themselves to serve as credit cards.
The mobile payment sector was a hot topic at the conference, and MasterCard even unveiled its own digital wallet service on Monday, May 7. Executives from both MasterCard and Visa made impressive keynote speeches detailing the great opportunities mobile payments have to offer. Initiatives from Google, Visa, MasterCard, and others involve broad partnerships, complex projects and wholesale changes in both retail and phone equipment. Meanwhile, Geode works with all existing retailers, without requiring any new infrastructure or equipment on the retailer part.
Price & Availability
Though the case is rather large and bulky, and comes with a steep $199 price tag, its capabilities have stirred a fair amount of interest nonetheless. As many as 3,000 units have already been pre-ordered, with 1,000 of them ordered in the first two and a half days.
The company showed off a pre-production model at the CTIA Wireless show, as mass production had just started. iCache plans to start selling the Geode case in June, in four available colors: black, green, pink, and violet.
