<s>
A	O
Universal	B-General_Concept
Card	I-General_Concept
was	O
a	O
concept	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
2010s	O
for	O
an	O
electronic	O
card	O
with	O
the	O
same	O
form	O
factor	O
as	O
a	O
magnetic	O
stripe	O
card	O
that	O
was	O
capable	O
of	O
emulating	O
any	O
magnetic	O
stripe	O
data	O
card	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	O
would	O
be	O
stored	O
either	O
in	O
the	O
card	O
,	O
or	O
on	O
a	O
smart	B-Application
phone	I-Application
that	O
communicates	O
with	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Certain	O
universal	B-General_Concept
card	I-General_Concept
products	O
also	O
added	O
an	O
extra	O
layer	O
of	O
security	O
to	O
protect	O
their	O
cards	O
against	O
theft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
payment	O
industry	O
moved	O
away	O
from	O
magnetic	O
stripe	O
cards	O
with	O
EMV	O
and	O
contactless	B-Application
payments	I-Application
the	O
concept	O
became	O
less	O
useful	O
for	O
consumers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
universal	B-General_Concept
card	I-General_Concept
movement	O
began	O
when	O
near	O
field	O
communication-based	O
mobile	O
wallet	O
solutions	O
initially	O
failed	O
to	O
gain	O
ground	O
and	O
presented	O
numerous	O
difficulties	O
,	O
the	O
two	O
biggest	O
being	O
the	O
cost	O
of	O
replacing	O
hardware	O
at	O
the	O
merchants	O
point	O
of	O
sale	O
and	O
customers	O
needing	O
a	O
near	O
field	O
communication-capable	O
phone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
financial	O
blunder	O
with	O
their	O
Geode	O
card	O
in	O
mid-2012	O
,	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
companies	O
tried	O
to	O
perfect	O
and	O
capitalize	O
on	O
a	O
universal	B-General_Concept
card	I-General_Concept
type	O
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
distinguishing	O
feature	O
of	O
the	O
universal	B-General_Concept
card	I-General_Concept
was	O
its	O
capability	O
of	O
reprogramming	O
its	O
magnetic	O
stripe	O
internally	O
,	O
to	O
mimic	O
the	O
data	O
stored	O
on	O
another	O
card	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
handful	O
of	O
start	O
ups	O
with	O
a	O
universal	B-General_Concept
card	I-General_Concept
type	O
product	O
found	O
different	O
ways	O
of	O
achieving	O
this	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
different	O
complexities	O
and	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
universal	B-General_Concept
card	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Universal	B-General_Concept
cards	I-General_Concept
either	O
stored	O
data	O
within	O
the	O
form	O
factor	O
,	O
or	O
within	O
a	O
device	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
smart	B-Application
phone	I-Application
that	O
communicates	O
with	O
the	O
card	O
via	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Escardgot	O
's	O
Helix	O
,	O
Protean	O
's	O
Echo	O
,	O
and	O
Omne	O
all	O
had	O
respective	O
apps	O
for	O
smart	B-Application
phones	I-Application
that	O
stores	O
a	O
potentially	O
limitless	O
number	O
of	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
scan	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
data	O
,	O
all	O
of	O
them	O
either	O
require	O
manual	O
input	O
into	O
a	O
smartphone	B-Application
app	O
or	O
a	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
mini	O
card	O
scanner	O
that	O
pluged	O
into	O
the	O
phone	O
's	O
headphone	B-Device
jack	I-Device
.	O
</s>
