Nio Card allows users to send Bitcoin via NFC technology

Bluenio, the British company that developed a smart device the Nio Card which debuted at Kickstarter on 8th November, introduced a new concept. The company announced that if it reaches fundraising target of £35,000 at Kickstarter, it will allow merchants and consumers to send and receive Bitcoin via NFC – near-field communication.

The device uses Bluetooth technology to connect to a user’s smartphone wirelessly. Ben Hounsell, nio Card’s director and co-founder, said in an interview with CoinDesk: «The nio Card can only work when it’s connected to your phone via Bluetooth, and if the payment button on the card is pressed at the same time». And he added: «All smartphone users, including iPhone users, can copy their bitcoin addresses and keys onto a nio Card using Bluetooth and make contactless payments – as it’s the NFC in the card that’s being used, not the phones».

Nio Card has a thickness of 4 mm, but for all that it able to replace the user’s credit cards, wallet, keys, and much more, according to developers.
According to Hounsell, Bluenio wanted to provide a way for Nio Card users to transfer money without going through traditional banks. In each transaction a unique key would be generated for payment. Also, the Nio Card will be delivered with optional “business-level” two-factor authentication, for added security.

However, NFC technology is still not very popular among consumers. This is largely due to resistance from merchants. As for the Nio Card, five days before the end of whip-round at Kickstarter the project has raised just £15,610 of its £35,000 goal.

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