Stratos’ Bluetooth-Connected Card Joins M-Payments Space

A little over a month-and-a-half ago, PYMNTS reported that the Stratos all-in-one card would be coming soon to a pocket near you. “Soon” arrived yesterday (April 30) — meeting the company’s targeted April shipping date just in the nick of time — as Stratos announced the shipment of the membership-based Stratos Bluetooth Connected Card was underway.

The Stratos card — similar to cards designed by competitors Plastc and Coin — boasts access to credit, debit, membership, gift and other magnetic stripe cards in one digital Bluetooth card. But unlike its competitors’ products, Stratos claims that its card offers bank-level security, and states that it “is smarter and more convenient than traditional payment cards.” It also boasts convenience, as it claims to be accepted at “more places than any other mobile payment offering,” according to the company’s release.

And it has a few other tricks up its sleeve, too. The Stratos app (available for iOS 8.1.1 or later and Android 4.3 and later) offers access to the user’s Top 3 cards (which can be accessed with or without a mobile device). In the security realm, card details are stowed behind a PIN or Touch ID, and the card also allows the user to shut down the card when it falls outside of a certain Bluetooth range of the owner’s smartphone.

“More than 63 percent of U.S. consumers plan to use some form of next generation payment technology, and our Stratos Card platform will accelerate mobile adoption by helping people make smarter and more secure payments with a preferred, familiar card form,” said Stratos Co-Founder and CEO Thiago Olson, citing research from the company’s 2015 survey on wearables and mobile payments.

The Stratos card comes with a membership, meaning its users will receive free annual upgrades (or replacements) as they become available, and members have access to customer support. Memberships cost $95, with orders being filled on a first-come, first-served basis. The company’s website indicates the next wave of cards will ship by October 2015.

The shipment of the Stratos card closely follows the April 17 shipment of Coin’s card, which gives users access to as many as eight payment cards. Then again, if you ask the PYMNTS Magic 8 Ball, the future of such cards is somewhat cloudy.