The Wallet of the Future



I always have these three things in my pockets. This is a problem to me. The time has come for a new device that merges the functions of a set of keys, a cell phone, and a wallet. I want to have one item in my pocket that does everything.

This device will look and work like a phone, but will also have the following features:

- A computer chip inside that can be securely programed to allow you to start your car, open your garage door, and unlock your house
- Another chip linked (again, securely) to your bank account and credit cards, allowing you to swipe the device at a POS terminal to pay for a purchase
- Access to important documents, such as a digital driver license, insurance information, organ donation info, blood type, allergy info, emergency contacts, and anything else that might be needed for driving or emergency situations
- Information storing all of your purchase receipts, membership and loyalty program info (grocery stores, fast food restaurants, etc.)

The technology already exists for all of this. It just needs to be put all together. It may take some time, but I think we'll have something like this in the next three to five years.

Apple is the obvious choice to make this happen. Call it the iWallet or even the new iPhone, I don't care. Yes, there is some infrastructure that would be required to make this all work. But companies will be more than happy to jump on board if Apple takes this on.

What do you think? What else would you like to see such a device do? I've turned off comments on the blog for now but if you have any other ideas, tweet me @brandbadger. I'll share the best ones in a future post.