PALO ALTO, Calif.—Digital wallets have finally killed off plastic—or at least the plastic smart card.
After three years in development, the Plastc smart credit card is dead, without ever having been released to the public, reported Nerd Wallet.
“Plastc was supposed to be able to store information from 20 cards, including credit, debit, loyalty and gift cards, on a single card-like device. But Plastc and similar products saw much of their prospective market eaten up by mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay,” Nerd Wallet explained.
Unable to secure financing to finish development of its product, Plastc Inc. ceased operations on April 20, 2017, and announced on its website that it was exploring bankruptcy options. Customers who pre-ordered the product won't have their orders filled, Nerd Wallet noted. Reports indicate the company took $9 million in preorders.
Digg explained that Plastc card had an E-Ink touchscreen, which showed name, credit card, barcodes and other information. With a swipe and tap users could change their card from a credit or debit card to a rewards card, thanks to the card’s rewriteable magnetic strip. The card also had a rewriteable NFC/RFID technology that lets the card mimic any RFID access cards.
Digital wallets, however, have yet to show that they may someday replace the plastic debit and credit cards, as their acceptance continues to be lukewarm among consumers, studies show, having yet to give cardholders reasons to shift to mobile tap and go. Experts suggest that linking rewards to mobile wallet usage could help drive adoption.