January 31, 2007

iCache Lightens Your Wallet

A new device called iCache stands to slenderize the card holders of many consumers’ wallets. The iCache device was unveiled at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show to great fanfare, as it stands to allow consumers to have the purchasing power of all their plastic, by carrying just one card.

By registering all their credit and/or debit card information online, iCache users are able to insert a universal card into the device and carry all their card data around on just one card. When out and about, users must carry the iCache and card. At the point of sale, the user swipes the iCache card through the device, and selects which card the universal card will act as for the transaction. At that point, they can swipe the universal card and use it just like the original credit/debit card. For safety purposes, the data disappears from the universal card within 10 minutes. Furthermore, the iCache itself can only be used after scanning your fingerprint with a biometric scanner for identification.

The iCache as unveiled was described to look “like an iPod,” and was smaller than a deck of playing cards. As the iCache developers are still trying to drum up bank and merchant interest in the device, there is no current timeframe in which it is expected to be available to consumers.

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