Gizmodo reports that Japanese tech company NEC has been working on ultra-thin, flexible batteries that are a mere 0.3mm thick, making them thin enough to use on a credit card. Why might you need a high-powered battery on a credit card, you ask? For a mini flat screen display, of course.
That’s right. Credit cards, once the last bastion of media-free living, are now capable of sporting TVs. We’re not sure credit cards with flat screens are really necessary, but NEC envisions these enhanced cards offering all kinds of space-age conveniences, including real-time balance statements or even more powerful wireless capabilities.
That’s certainly a long way from where credit cards started. According to Fox Business, It took almost two decades for engineers to agree on how to standardize the simple magnetic stripe on the back of your card. It took another 25 years to mass-produce cards with micro chips, and even then they only took off in Europe.
Where Credit Card Technology Is Headed
Perhaps all the latest credit card innovation means the industry is feeling more adventurous these days. For example, the rapid evolution of near field communication technology means that the future might not hold actual physical credit cards at all—all your credit access will be in your smartphone. Simply wave your phone at the register and the transaction is complete. If that’s too much trouble, you’ll soon be able to attach the same kind of contactless EMV chip found in cards and phones to just about anything you want.
Fox Business also speculates that biometrics will become more and more popular in credit card technology. Taking a cue from Disney World ticket security, retailers could opt to scan customers’ fingerprints and vein structure instead of scanning their credit card. Because in the future, a person’s biometric data could be linked to securely stored credit accounts.
Or perhaps all of your credit cards and account information will be condensed into one master card, making the Costanza wallet a thing of the past. You’ll simply tap in your pin directly on the card or use a special fingerprint-activated on/off switch to unlock your spending power. Sounds like some Jetsons-style shopping sprees will be in order!
SOURCES:
http://gizmodo.com/5892490/credit-card+thin-batteries-could-power-a-display-on-your-visa
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/financial-literacy/the-evolution-of-credit-cards-1.aspx
http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/03/15/credit-cards-future-4-exciting-trends/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/02/18/researchers-create-onoff-switch-for-credit-cards-to-prevent-rfid-theft/
PHOTO CREDIT:
http://hanna-barbera.wikia.com/wiki/The_Jetsons
