Steve Nets

USB Credit Cards – How Thin Can They Go

Normal 0 When you consider that inside a USB credit card is a USB Flash memory chip (for storing the data onto), a flash controller (for giving instructions to the flash memory – the “brains” of the USB drive) and a USB connector to enable it to be connected to a PC, that’s a pretty impressive feat!

Well, how does 2mm sound. Yep, that’s right, the latest versions of the USB credit card are now down to just 2mm thick, which is pretty much exactly the same as a standard credit or bankcard.

When you consider that inside a USB credit card is a USB Flash memory chip (for storing the data onto), a flash controller (for giving instructions to the flash memory – the “brains” of the USB drive) and a USB connector to enable it to be connected to a PC, that’s a pretty impressive feat!

USB Credit Cards not only used to be around 2-3 times the thickness of today’s ultra thin models but early versions were a little brittle and “clunky”. The current Flip Mk II and Rotate models are not only incredibly well built but they are tactile and they’re a great platform onto which you can print complex logos and designs.

As a form factor the credit card shape is one of the most commonly used designs in the world today and as such we all tend to have wallets, purses, bags, filofax’s or something similar in which we carry the cards. So, one of the benefits of buying a Credit Card shaped USB flash drive rather than the standard “stick” shape is that your customer or clients will have somewhere convenient to store and carry it. Not only that but having your brand on a USB credit card gives you what the credit card industry calls “share of wallet” – this is not a share of their spend but the physical sharing of a customers wallet with other global brands such as VISA, MasterCard and American Express. Getting your brand amongst these goliaths of the global branding game is clearly to your advantage and its not something a standard USB flash drive can deliver.

Equally, a standard USB flash drive has a pretty limited amount of space onto which you can print your design or logo. Its typically not a huge problem if your logo is simple, compact and its just one logo you want printed but, if you need to print complex logo’s or produce a USB stick with multiple logo’s and possibly a strap line then you’re going to need the extra print space a USB credit card offers.

Functionally USB credit cards work in the same way as a standard “stick” type design and they’re available in a range of memory sizes from 128MB all the way up to a whopping 16GB. There is no compromise on internal USB components and the data transfer speeds are also broadly similar to a standard USB stick.

Although USB credit cards are marginally more expensive than standard models if you pre-load the cards with your sales material, brochures, prices lists, presentation files, media files and so on you can offset a significant chunk of the cost by printing less paper documents (as well as saving the haulage and storage costs of these printed documents)

Article Tags: Credit Cards, Credit Card

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