The Token Ring allows contactless payments, password storage and other transactions using NFC or Bluetooth.
Contactless payments, or as we often call them: the future. It’s a future India is far, far away from at the moment, but with the launch of Samsung Pay in India, it’s evident that company’s see potential in the country. And while we wait, there’s a new company in the West, called Token, with a product that makes contactless payments uber cool.
It’s called the Token Ring, and it acts as a one stop mechanism for all authentication requirements, from payments to smart home systems and passwords. It’s literally a ring, made of sterling silver, that has a fingerprint sensor on the inside. The fingerprint sensor authenticates you whenever you put the ring on, and for security purposes, there’s an optical sensor determining when the ring is off your finger. If stolen or lost, the Token Ring can’t be used by anyone else, since it is activated only when it senses your fingerprint.
Your fingerprint is stored on a “secure element” inside the ring, which is secured using ELA5+ encryption. Token promises that the data is never stored on its servers, making it difficult to steal.
Token claims the ring lasts two days on a single charge and it charges wirelessly. The company has partnered with Mastercard and Visa, allowing users to add all their credit cards to the Token app. After adding your cards, you’ll need to set one as default, which will be used to make all your payments. This can of course be changed later on Token’s iOS and Android apps. It’s worth noting that Token’s payment systems aren’t integrated with Android, Samsung or Apple Pay. So, the company will have to work on integrating vendors and other third parties with its systems. The Token Ring supports both NFC and Bluetooth.
Token is also working with Microsoft to use the Ring to unlock Windows PCs. The Ring can also be used for unlocking your car, interacting with your smart home systems, Token’s own security system, and more.
The company is currently taking pre-order in the US only, but Token confirms on its FAQ page that it will ship to other countries in 2018.
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Prasid Banerjee
Trying to explain technology to my parents. Failing miserably. View Full Profile
