Contactless key fob

Mondo has done an amazing job of reimagining lots of fundamental pain points with traditional banking.

I was wondering if it would be technically possible to separate the chip from the card to create a rubberised ‘fob’ (perhaps in the shape of the mondo logo) that could be attached as a dongle to a phone or put on a key chain as a quick way of making a contactless payment.

Obviously it wouldn’t replace the card in your wallet if your contactless was rejected etc but would be really useful for daily scenarios such as tapping in and out on the tube.

Not sure if this would controvene any MasterCard regs but would be unique (as far as I know) and a cool, platform-agnostic alternative to ApplePay.

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That’s a really cool idea, I’d like to have a mondo logo fob :smile:. I think it’s technically possible as I know Barclay bPay had some contactless devices like a band, fob and stickers aimed at sports people. I’d like to see what Mondo could come up with.

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I have wrist bands from bPay and love them (though don’t want a keyfob as rarely take my keys out) but always wished they were linked to my current account not prepay. When Mondo become a full bank if they had wearables that were debit cards not prepaid that would be cool

Still waiting for my kerv http://kerv.com

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Technically possible. Demand would have to be proved though.

With Apple Pay on the Watch and Android Pay being privately tested on Wear (both supporting CDCVM), I’m not entirely convinced it’s worth the money and effort to build a range of wearables.

I will say this, having a small contactless EMV module to put in to costume props is great (think tapping a wand on a TfL reader).

bPay is struggling from what I have read…

Would a :mondo: implant so I can just wave my hand over the reader be too much :joy:.

I think a fob thats like a normal keyring, with bluetooth connectivity so the app can communicate with it - an idea being to allow and deny payments maybe etc - that would be cool.

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That’s a really cool idea.

I’m not surprised when they charge for the devices themselves :joy:

My various bPay wearables came in handy while GPS/Monzo was down. I really prefer wearables to alternatives like Android Pay and Samsung Pay, but I want them to be debit not prepay.

Do you have any way to pay on a smartphone or smartwatch? If so, I’m curious as to why you’d prefer this over that (I’m genuinely curious as to what benefits you see).

A device totally independent from a phone. So I can go out without a phone or still use it when my phone battery is totally dead.

I’ve never had any wearable payment option, but I can see how it could help me while travelling with 3 main benefits:

  • perfect as backup payment or even main payment option, while cards are safely stored
  • wearable has a chance to be less noticeable and potentially less targeted by thieves
  • waterpoof, I don’t need to worry (same goes for cards though)

So even if someone broke into my hotel and left me literally with one pair of socks, or my backpack was stolen with phone and wallet (not that I keep phone and wallet in backpack at the same time, but anything can happen), there’s a high chance that fob attached my shorts or bracelet will remain. It could be even sewn into something, if I’m really paranoid. :smiley:

I definitely dig the idea, but I will not go as far as buying wearable cash, unless it’s from Monzo. :slight_smile:

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I guess the reason I didn’t see those benefits is because my wearable payment option is my Apple Watch and I wasn’t seeing this as a wearable :slight_smile:

After experiencing the benefits of a wearable payment option, though, I completely agree with you.

(One cool thing about the Apple Watch—and maybe other smartwatches—is that you can use them to pay for things when your phone isn’t with you or when your phone battery has gone. That’s great for me as a runner.)

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