School: Carnegie Mellon University
Team members: Jeff Mullen, Bruce Cloutier, Philip Yen, Brad Carpenter
1st place winner
Concept: Since the 1970s, credit and debit cards have sported static magnetic stripes that are programmed before the card is delivered to the consumer and cannot be reprogrammed. Nearly 95% of card transactions use this stripe. Dynamics is developing a reprogrammable magnetic stripe that will work with existing card-reading machines while providing additional services and security for the end user.
For example, most credit card fraud involves mimicking a magnetic stripe; dynamic stripes could generate one-time credit card numbers, based on the current date and time, that will only be validated by banking company software if the number and timestamp match. Dynamics is also developing a credit card with a digital display, so users can read the one-time number off the front of the card, and a keypad so credit card use can be PIN-protected. A single card could also be linked to multiple accounts, eliminating the need to carry a wallet full of cards. Dynamics founders hope that the introduction of this technology will encourage innovation throughout the banking industry. -Rose Fox
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