Steal This Billion-Dollar Idea
I wanted to start a series for all my brilliant ideas I won’t be doing. Except a series on Medium isn’t what I thought they were, so I will just make a tag.
Add Location-Based Features to an All-In-One Credit Card (or Google/Apple Pay)
I’m a dork about credit card rewards. At the same time, I hate having more than a small front-pocket wallet on me. Here is a conflict.
I recently recalled the promise of a single card that would store all your other cards, and you could switch through them. Even at face value, there seemed several problematic aspects with this idea, which may be why I didn’t get all jazzed and jump on at the time. Doing some searching, it looks like there are several companies promising this product, but I haven’t been able to find where I can actually purchase a card with an EMV chip. More than anything, it looks like everyone failed. Maybe a successful multi-card solution is the first step, and then add this amazing feature…
Multi-cards should definitely take advantage of location. When I’m inside a Trader Joe’s, the app should be able to tell I’m nearest a grocery store, and based on preferences default to my AmEx Blue Cash card. At a coffee-shop, the card automatically sets to my Square Cash Boost Card to save me a buck.
If this was affordable and accessible enough, the data alone would be worth a fortune. The user could opt-in for special deals and coupons. Since we know we have bargain-chasers, and relevance could be increased further thanks to location, promotions would likely be appreciated and acted on at a higher rate than average.
Until then, could we get this on phone payment apps? After the disappointment of discovering a couple years later we still don’t have an all-in-one card, I realized we already have a solution for consolidating payment methods. I think I’ve used Google Pay on my phone, but it’s been a while. Thinking through the places I shop, I wouldn’t be able to ditch my cards, but it may help keep my wallet thin. A feature like this would definitely make Google or Apply Pay more useful, and the usage data could bring value to provider.
I don’t need credit or royalties folks, just want someone to make this dream come true.
