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After months of delays, the payments device startup, Coin, has started to ship its card. This announcement is after almost 12 months of delays and a number of development issues. Competition has entered the market with similar cards and the release of Apple Pay hasn't helped either. Coin might have missed its opportunity to become the market leader and the company's backers should be ready for further frustration with the arrival of EMV this fall (Coin is not EMV compatible).
...Some even speculated that Coin was dead, but Parashar says it was simply being cautious with the product. The team went through 42 test designs (and raised $15 million in funding) during the interim, and a beta program that lasted six months across 1,000 cities. Finally, the card is shipping. But is it too late? Competitors like Stratos has plans to ship soon (said they would in April, but haven’t yet), and Plastc is slated to ship this summer. Plus, Apple Pay has gone live and will likely begin to permeate the mainstream along with other mobile payments solutions. Meanwhile, Coin is still working to receive its PCI (payment card industry) compliance certification, which the company says it expects to receive in Q2 of this year. And then there’s EMV migration.
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