Security researchers have doubts on new payment concept Coin

11/18/2013 - 00:00

All-in-one digital payments start-up Coin has issued a robust defence of its technology following criticism from an infosec firm.

Coin offers a single combined credit/debit/loyalty/store card that's paired with a user's mobile phone. The Coin app requires that you take a picture of the front and back of the card, type in your card details, and then swipe the card (using a reader it provides) to ensure the card’s encoded magnetic stripe data matches the card details provided.

It is not possible to complete these steps unless you are in physical possession of a card - see video below for an explanation of how the technology works.

However security researchers at IOActive fear the technology inadvertently creates new avenues for abuse, in particular the possibility of potentially opening the door to more potent skimming attacks.