London-based fintech firm, Tide Payments , today announced the launch of its latest product, a smart payment card. The Dimes card, as it is called, combines a number of features that aim to give the user greater control over their personal finances. Its novelty lies in how it combines a simple user experience with gamification.
The Dimes card combines a simple user experience with gamification to give the user greater control over their personal finances.
Tide Payments is stationed on Canary Wharf’s Floor 39, Europe’s largest technology accelerator space for fintech firms. The company is focused on building user-friendly financial products by combing a suite of out-of-the-box micro services, including digital wallets, trading platforms, Ripple gateways, and cross-platform apps.
At its simplest level, the Dime card links to a user's smart phone, providing a user interface that allows clear oversight of spending and budgeting. By tracking every purchase, the user can monitor how much he or she spends, as well as being able to set spending limits and check budgets.
The Dime card also seeks to nudge the user in the right direction. By including elements of game playing to the experience, known as gamification, the developers claim to aid the avid, and perhaps out-of-control, spender. In this case, users are set challenges and rewarded with Dimes points, which convert into cashback. The user’s phone buzzes to notify that rewards are being collected.
The obvious question is, will the new smart card be simply subsumed by a mass move towards mobile payments?
Supported by MasterCard, the smart card can be used in any store that takes card payments.
In an era where most fintech companies are moving away from traditional payment mediums, such as cash and cards, it is curious that Tide Payments is sticking with the card. Indeed, Apple has popularised mobile payment, recently announcing several feature updates to its Apple Pay product. Rather, the Dimes card is refining a traditional payment experience. The obvious question therefore is, will the new smart card be simply subsumed by a mass move towards mobile payments?
