Capital One, a credit card provider, is introducing a new mobile wallet app that is designed to work with Apple Pay, the mobile payment platform being developed by mobile manufacturing giant Apple.
Called Capital One Wallet, the app actually had its soft launching on iOS earlier last month, but the company has only officially announced its release today. Now that it is out, consumers can now begin to use it in getting detailed information on transactions made through Apple Pay. On top of that, the app can can also be utilized to access balance rewards and other features.
Coming from a rather traditional financial institution, Capital One Wallet boasts a well-thought design. Financial institutions have always been a bit slow in taking advantage of the latest technology in providing a good experience for its customers. Indeed, a lot of startups have been luring these same customers into availing of alternative financial services solutions not offered by banks. Examples of these opportunistic entities include Moven, Simple, or Wallaby's, which provide ingenious financial management tools for regular folks.
But Capital One Wallet begs to stand out from the crowd. The app adapts a modern aesthetic and is packed with useful features that include real-time purchase notices and transaction details that show business names, addresses, contact information, and more. That may sound straightforward, but when cleverly combined together, it provides a wealth of easily accessible (and sortable) information that helps protect customers from fraud and other dubious business dealings.
Because it is designed to work with Apple Pay, the Capital One Wallet will no doubt prove useful for iPhone users, especially those with Capital One cards, whether it is debit or credit. Plus, customers who use Rewards credit cards will be able to access their rewards through the app, and even redeem with just a swipe. Rewards can also be redeemed for e-gift cards, which will appear on the app, ready to be used by customers whenever they want to. It should be noted though that the Rewards-associated capabilities are only available to Credit Card users -- those who use Debit Cards will only be able to view transaction histories.
The Capital One Wallet also does away with personal identification numbers (PINs). Instead it uses the SureSwipe feature, which imitates the log-in pattern-making gestures commonly found on Android devices.
For now, the app can only be used on iOS-run devices. But Capital One is currently working on an Android version. The Capital One Wallet is intended to complement the company's other older mobile app. Users who have already set their SureSwipe patterns for that app can expect to use them too for the Capital One Wallet.
