Mike Boudo
Piles of plastic overloading your pocketbook, but now you can lighten the load and get "More Bang for Your Buck". Check your wallet, chances are you've got plenty cards taking up space. In the near future, your wallet might hold only one card. 7's Frances Rivera has a bang for your buck on a card consolidator.
Credit cards, bank cards, ID's, "T" pass -- what's weighing down your wallet?
Todd Burger, CEO, Chameleon Network
"We've heard and seen from consumers wallets that typically have 25 to 50 items in it."
Lexington businessman, Todd Burger, wants to change all that. His answer…
Todd Burger, CEO, Chameleon Network
"We call it the pocket vault and it's a small electronic wallet."
Burger claims his invention is the wallet of the future.
Here's how it works, the device is loaded with all your information, credit cards, ID's, preferred customer cards -- your fingerprint turns it on.
Todd Burger, CEO, Chameleon Network
"No one else can get into your wallet without your fingerprint.
A blank credit card, called chameleon, slides into the top. The user selects the credit or bank card on the interface. That card's information is then transferred to the chameleon card, which becomes active for five minutes until a transaction is made.
Todd Burger, CEO, Chameleon Network
"That card can be your visa card one minute, your library card the next and your Blockbuster Video card the minute after that. And yet if you lose this it goes blank automatically, so you don't have to worry about fraud."
Updated over the Internet, the device can give instant account balances and alert shoppers to sale items. Despite all the features, one security expert is skeptical.
Jerry Brady, CSO, Verisign
"It's certainly not going to increase security dramatically."
Jerry Brady at Verisign says the vast majority of identity and credit card fraud takes place online, not after a "bricks and mortar" purchase.
Jerry Brady, CSO, Verisign
"I look at it more as a convenience tool, than a security tool."Todd Burger, CEO, Chameleon Network
"It's clearly more secure then anything out there in the marketplace today."
The Pocket Vault's creating a buzz, even though no working model exists yet.
Diane, Saugus
"I like the idea of carrying one thing and not carrying all those cards around."Jerry, Washington, DC
"If it can eliminate fraud, I'm all for it."Todd Burger, CEO, Chameleon Network
"We've taken several hundred orders for a product that's not yet available in the market, and it's clear from what we hear back from consumers that this is something that meets their needs."
The device is expected to cost $179 and won't be available until next year. Until then, we'll all just have to keep swiping the old fashion way.
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