New Samsung credit card allows users to track its location

Samsung has just unveiled a new credit card that allows users to physically track its location.

Thanks to the new feature, users can look up the location of their card at any time, which can be particularly helpful if their wallet is lost or stolen. Interestingly, the tracking works both ways, so users can also find their lost phone as long as it is linked to the card.

The new Samsung American Express card was created in partnership with KB Kookmin Card and AmEx on the IoT-capable card, featuring SmartThings Find’s technology. As such, it allows users to connect their Galaxy smartphone to the card and easily check its location by using Bluetooth Low Energy, either at home or abroad.

If the user gets a certain distance away from the card, an alert will notify them of this, allowing the user to retrieve the card if they accidentally forgot their wallet or if they dropped it without noticing. Of course, the same can be said for situations where someone stole the entire wallet.

In this situation, the user will at least be aware of it right away, allowing them to contact the card issuer and request its cancellation before the thief manages to misuse it and spend the user’s money.

Another interesting use case for the IoT sector

While this is an innovative feature that can provide an additional layer of security for cardholders, and as such, it will likely be highly desirable among Samsung customers — it is worth noting that the card is currently exclusively available in South Korea. While Samsung will likely expand the card’s reach and make it available globally, the company has not revealed any such intentions as of the time of writing.

For now, the card is compatible with the IoT, and it is very easy to integrate it into the SmartThings Find app. More importantly, the new card shines light on the possible integrations and use cases of IoT in the context of the financial industry, and specifically, the credit card industry.

In this situation, integrating location-based technologies already offers an excellent opportunity for financial institutions to increase security and offer a more connected experience for the customer. As IoT continues to develop and uncover new use cases, it will also become more prevalent in people’s everyday lives.

For the time being, this technology has created a unique credit card that users can never lose again, at least not without quickly locating it with nothing but their smartphone.