Delay on launching the TokenCard alpha cards to ICO Holders
Our original goal was to get cards out and the Contract Wallet launched in March. We’ve had to push the date back and we want you to understand why.
The delay is down to amendments we are making to the Contract Wallet to improve usability and make it more future proof. To date, the version of the Contract Wallet application that we have all been using has been an ERC-20-only wallet. It doesn’t work with Cryptokitties, for example, nor can it create DAI by collateralising ETH via the Maker CDP. Given feedback and our knowledge of the wider market, not being able to work with the CDP was deemed something we needed to address — we’ve been making those changes to ensure that it does.
This is about giving the Contract Wallet the functionality to call arbitrary contracts whilst keeping track of tokens spent via the spend limits. Ultimately, we are now working on upgradable smart contracts, but this won’t be in production for a while now, so we wanted to make sure that we weren’t limiting the use-cases afforded by our implementation. This — along with the code that ensures that the 1% is taken correctly — is what we have been working on, and what currently can’t be seen in the contracts currently deployed to mainnet.
If we were to go live with the current Contract Wallet, any users would have to redeploy their Contract Wallet once the newer version had been released. This is a sub-optimal experience for our community, and given that the delay will be a short rather than extended one we’ve decided that it’s better for us to push out the Contract Wallet launch.
We’re sorry for any frustrations caused by this and will keep you updated on our progress.
How we’re managing fees during the alpha
At TokenCard we’re committed to being transparent on fees and being customer-first. We see the alpha as a period of testing, and this applies to pricing as well. We’re ironing out the fees for the wider launch later this year, and will get a better sense of what works and what doesn’t during the TokenCard alpha.
- Card issuance | Sending out your TokenCard will be free. However if your card is lost or stolen, replacement cards will carry a £5 issuance charge.
- Topping up | If you’ve been following our blog for a while, you will have come across the TKN “Community Contribution” — formerly referred to as a licensing fee. This is a 1% contribution on top of the top-up amount.
- Using the card at home | When spending in-store and online as normal, you won’t be charged for your purchases. You’ll also get 2 free ATM cash withdrawals a month with your TokenCard, with any subsequent ATM withdrawals carrying a fixed £0.75 charge — e.g. if you withdraw £10, and have already exceeded your 2 free withdrawal limit, you’d be charged £10.75 overall.
- Using the card abroad | When spending in-store and online in a non-domestic currency (e.g. spending in EUR with your GBP TokenCard), every purchase will carry a 1.75% charge on top of the payment amount, which is calculated according to the Visa exchange rate.
- Spending Limits | As with most cards, your TokenCard will have some spending limits in place — these are to protect you in the event that your card is compromised. The limits range from Daily (midnight to midnight), to Yearly (per 365 day period).
Testing update
If you’ve been following us on Twitter, you will have noticed our Testing Diaries, chronicling our journey to bring the Ethereum economy to the world. We’re happy to announce that we have recently begun the process of getting the first external users on board — ten product testers who have previously helped out the team testing very early iterations of our Contract Wallet and the TokenCard app.
For these ten testers, we’ll be bringing them into the office for in-depth 1:1 interviews with the goal of better understanding the TokenCard card order process from the users’ point of view ahead of shipping. They will have to redeploy their Contract Wallets once we’ve made amendments. These 1:1 sessions with the first ten users are intended as a short stepping stone to the alpha rollout, starting with…
Onboarding ICO Holders
As promised from Day One, the first run of TokenCard alpha cards will be reserved for our ICO holders (as taken from this snapshot).
We’ll announce the full details of how we’ll be onboarding ICO holders in a special one-off blog post nearer the time — the TL;DR on ICO holders registering interest for the card, however, looks like:
We’ll give ICO holders an exclusive period of one-to-two weeks to identify themselves — this will likely be via a signed message from the wallet which they hold the TKN token/s on. From there, they’ll be invited to download the TokenCard app from the iOS App Store, deploy their Contract Wallet, then sign-up and order their TokenCard card. This will start with UK ICO holders, before moving out to the European Economic Area (EEA).
I’m not an ICO Holder, how can I be part of the TokenCard alpha?
If you’re not an ICO Holder and want to register interest for the card, you’ll be able to do this from within the TokenCard app once we’re live on the App Store. The process will look a little like the below:
- 🏪 Download the TokenCard app from the App Store
- 👛 Deploy your Contract Wallet through the app
- 💳 Head to the “Card” tab and register interest for the card
- 🔔 Turn on notifications and keep an eye on your phone and email inbox
- 🛃 Once we’ve opened up access for you to order the TokenCard card, you’ll need to go through our order process and fill out necessary KYC information.
To manage demand and allow for addressing any bugs that may arise, we’ll be opening up access to the TokenCard order flow in batches. We’ll be prioritising card access for those who are actively using the Contract wallet during the alpha.
One last thing…
We really appreciate your patience during our alpha rollout. As with all product development, hiccups do occur, and tweaks need to be made. We won’t be sending out the card until we feel it’s in a state where we’re happy to release, regardless of whether it’s the alpha MVP or the full launch. We’re on the cusp of putting the TokenCard card in your hands — we want to make sure we’re doing it right.
— 🎮 Discord| 👽 Reddit | 🐦 Twitter | 📜 Whitepaper| 🕸️ Website—
Thanks —Alan on behalf of Team TokenCard
