RFID protection and
aluminium case
Reading time: 3 minutes.
At the beginning, when designing BulKey Code Wallet™, we wanted it to have built-in Bluetooth tracking. But after analysis, we realized that this would take away from the wallet space. In addition, tracking will not be necessary for everyone, and it would make the product more expensive. There are more and more Bluetooth tracking devices on the market with more and more features, so the task remained for us to make the wallet compatible with these devices and for each user to decide for himself which tracking device to use.
Read more: What can i store in my BulKey Code Wallet?
Unfortunately for us, this task (the wallet to be trackable) is in direct conflict with another goal of ours: to make the wallet RFID-protected and the contactless bank cards in it secure. We looked at an option to coat the wallet in aluminum like other products on the market. This would solve the RFID protection issue, but destroy compatibility with tracking devices. We had to make a serious analysis of the two tasks choose which one would be more useful.
1. RFID protection by coating the BulKey Code Wallet™ with aluminum
RFID reading of bank cards is typically 2 to 4 centimeters! Which automatically makes the potential skimming (reading) of an RFID card in motion very close to zero. But there is the following scenario: if you leave the wallet unattended, someone with a battery-powered POS terminal can write a small amount (below the limit – typically below 50 or 100 EURO depending on the card) and touch the POS terminal to the wallet. Then if he’s lucky the terminal doesn’t ask him for a PIN code, the thief will be able to charge you from the card. BUT, almost all card operators immediately notify owners of a transaction, and you can quickly catch the thief or dispute the transaction with the bank. Thief would be left empty-handed, but would carry a huge risk of jail time for a small amount of money that in reality he will not even take it. Because of this, this scenario is very unlikely to ever happen.
Read more: How can i track my BulKey Code Wallet?
It turns out that RFID protection is more of a marketing gimmick than a real benefit. In addition, if there are at least 2 RFID bank cards in the wallet, this scenario does not work – the POS terminal will not read them. (It is the same anlogy as to people speaking simultaneously and you ar trying to listen to only one of them).
If you are still afraid, you can buy such an RFID protector for 0.10 EUR and solve the problem. From the analysis, it turned out that the task of RFID skimming is not essential, rather a marketing plus, but against this virtual plus, one real benefit will be lost – Bluetooth tracking.
2. Bluetooth tracking
This feature is very useful if you are distracted and often don’t remember where you left your things. Bluetooth tracking will help you quickly find your BulKey Code Wallet™ in whichever bag you left it, saving you time and nerves. We have this kind of distracted person on our team who is always looking for something at the last minute, and bluetooth tracking has solved a lot of problems for him. There are many companies in the market that produce such tracking devices with different functions and the competition is high, which is a big plus for our users because BulKey Code Wallet™ is compatible with them.
Conclusion:
It turns out that coating BulKey Code Wallet™ with aluminum will only have a decorative value, and it will remove the tracking feature. In addition, if the aluminium case is hit with a heavy object, it will ruin the appearance of the BulKey Code Wallet™ (aluminum will distort). Furthermore, alumunium will make the product more expensive. And that’s why we decided now to produce BulKey Code Wallet™ only from polycarbonate.
However we plan in the fututre to make a version of BulKey Code Wallet™ in aluminum coating for fans of aluminum wallets. Stay Tuned!
Read more: Let’s be realistic…
