Found this after browsing a twitter thread where the OP asked "why isn't there one credit card you can use and it charges whatever credit card in the back that gives the best rewards for a given merchant":
https://myunowallet.com/earlyaccess
Details scant but it essentially says it works like Curve US/Percents betas did: add the Uno wallet, add your other cards, use the Uno wallet, it optimally routes the transaction. It does say under the FAQ "Uno will work with all major credit cards from Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. We're continuously expanding our partner network." Which is not explicitly saying all of those networks are currently supported, but I'm not a member of the beta so I can't say what is or isn't working right now.
Of course, as I have previously posted about here, these cards generally don't survive for a simple reason:
Which means either:
A. Uno miraculously got some sort of waiver on this rule from Visa or MC,
or
B. Startup mentality of "it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission" and Visa/MC will crack down on the card the instant they notice (e.g. the Curve US and Percents betas abruptly closing).
Figure it'll be fun to see if I can get on the waitlist of such a product and enjoy the ride for as long as it lasts, but I'm not holding my breath…
Yet another attempt at "one card to rule them all" a la Curve/Percents (Uno Smart Card)
byu/coopdude inCreditCards
Posted by coopdude
4 Comments
But how would the wallet know in-app offers for the cards?
I honestly wonder if the product even exists at all beyond the founders’ dreams right now:
1. The only social media post I could find about it is … this very reddit post
* Side note: This name should be a case study in anti-SEO optimization, try googling for “uno card” and see what you get
2. The website contains no screenshots or other proof of the app working (which you’d think you want to do if it already existed and did work)
3. As you already pointed out, we know this product shouldn’t exist per the card network TOSs
It looks like yet another app, not a card. Many have attempted to write an app that uses location information to figure out where you are and present the optimal card to the tap-reader. The best they can do right now is tell you where you already know you are, and tell you the best card if you can’t remember yourself. The problem with making it some sort of one-pay app is always the front-to-back communication and business logic needs to happen before the point-of-sale terminal times out, and lots of bad things happen in that time. They really can’t do it faster than you can just scroll with your finger.
Second, the holy grail isn’t an app, it’s a physical card that looks like a credit card but does all the business logic of juggling your cards on the back end. One card to rule them all. That would be cool, but that’s the “fronting” that’s specifically in violation of the processors’ rules. No way they’re getting a waiver there. It’s how they make their money, and it’s why the merchants trust them. Besides, the whole system is set up to defeat man-in-the-middle attacks, which is basically how a “one card” would behave. Even with a so-called “waiver” they’d look like a MOM attack to the network. It’s already built-in, and not something they can waive.
I’ve been thinking about this for twenty years. I have a few phone company patents in the olden days that the credit card networks had to cooperate with, and the first question everyone asked in every meeting was “can I just have one card that routes to the best bank for this purchase?” Nope.
Fintechs for F-idiots.