More of an idea than a project, but is there anyone who have been thinking about creating something like this https://www.lunar.app, but instead of issuing mastercards, one could issue out chip implants without expiration dates.
Idk what would really go into creating something like that though. Anyone have any info on if its doable?
In my head it would sort out atleast what i consider the biggest gotcha with implanting something which can actually be used to pay irl
Where does it say that the cards donât expire? Iâm pretty sure Lunar is just an e-bank that charges you for access to their app and financial services. I donât see anything novel.
Youâre right about one of the primary issues with taking existing payment hardware and adapting it into an implant is the invalidation of the chip, either over an expiration date or the whims of the payment provider. One way that e-banks like Luna manage this (and eventually what VivoKey could do) is called tokenization.
Itâs a complicated topic, but basically your bank is the only one who has your real account credentials in their secure storage, and whenever a retailer wants to send a charge to your account they send the request with a token that represent your account to the payment system. That way if a malicious actor ever hacked the retailers system all they would get is these tokens, which canât be directly decrypted into your actual account details because itâs just a pointer to where they are in the bankâs database.
A device like an Apple watch or a VivoKey implant can be provisioned with tokens, and if it gets compromised somehow then the attacker who has the token can only manage a limited number of fraudulent transactions before the token is invalidated, and then you just re-provision your implant with new token credentials without having to get a whole new chip.
Someone else might step in with some corrections, but thatâs a basic rundown.
Youâve hit the nail on the head here.
This is our main point of focus for VivoKey payment capabilities. Itâs happening, but it takes too much money and is very restrictive to become a financial institution. You would generally need to partner with a bigger bank, who gets to tell you what to do - and most banks are very skittish over implants.
Most???
But not all !!!
What arenât you telling us???
Spill the beans !!!
Why all the secrets???
Go on, you can tell us, We wonât tell Amal, that you told us
Nothing secret here mate, just know of one bank at least who was intrigued - youâll find neobanks or e-banks are more likely to be interested in it.
I can imagine the Swedish banks being on with it, theyâve jumped on all the techy things and implants are relatively common here. Or something like Curve maybe?
This still needs the payment processor (Visa, MC or a local scheme) to co-operate. The eftpos (Australiaâs local scheme, quite popular - moreso than visa or MC) rules only state it requires a bank sponsor for a new form factor, but this is unique as the banks themselves own eftpos. The banks I talked to were willing to pass it up the chain, at least in Australia - but both were digital-only banks.
Itâs being explored. But bureaucracy moves slowly, especially so with the finance sector. Iâm hoping my payment conversion (booked for the 30th with a cosmetic surgeon - the body mod industry collapsed in Australia due to severe overreach into cosmetic surgery by one artist, leading to a criminal case against him after he botched it) implant will tide me over.
Monzo appear to be open to alot of things dont know if there in the USA yet but in Europe there a growing bank
To be clear⊠the processor is not visa or mastercard⊠those guys are just the schemes⊠the network that connects everything⊠banks, processors, payment gateways, etc. and they get to dictate what transactions go across their networks from which devices. There are so many players involved at different levels itâs nothing but confusing and irritating the second you step foot into this realm.
Wasted money if you want to turn it into an implant. From the terms and conditions:
1.3 Card limitations:
Your Card will expire six (6) months from the date of issuance.
Iâm in email correspondence with them. The terms you linked only apply to the pilot B2B one they were using for events over the past year. The direct to consumer one is launching in 3 weeks and it looks like Iâll be one of the first to receive it. Itâs 4 year expiry like a normal prepaid card.
I actually used some Google Fu to find their purchase page that wasnât public yet, and I was order #1004. Afterwards they emailed me and were like âhow did you find that page??â
You should have replied âIâll only tell you if you sell me a card without an expiry date.â