From The Straits Times    |
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Like everything that gets smarter in today’s context: mobile phones (we don’t need to explain why), watches that plan your day down to the second, or fitness bands that tell you “hey girl, you might want to get off the couch and get some exercise”, the humble wallet is poised to see an upgrade and that isn’t lost on Amsterdam label Ekster.

The three men you have to thank for rescuing your wallet from a bar or the depths of your sofa. From left: Founders Richard Canneman, Rik Scharnigg and Olivier Momma.

Founded by three chaps who decided to task themselves with plugging the gap in the market, Ekster isn’t just a smart wallet which notifies you when it goes missing. The main component to the wallet is a Chipolo® device that is disguised as a card but we’ll spare you on the tech details. What should you know though? Each Chipolo® tracking card has a unique QR code that links it to your smartphone and also, is connected to a worldwide GPS tracker network. If you’ve lost us, it simply means that you can find it when your wallet goes missing using the Google Assistant app (Dempsey Hill? No problem. Tokyo? No sweat. California? Ekster’s got you covered.) Or if you’re particularly lazy, just bug Alexa for its coordinates. 

 


The Ekster boys have created the perfect phone case too: manufactured using European leather and has a slot of cash and a card. An added bonus: it’s wonderfully slim.

And if you’re wondering “Okay that’s great but does it need batteries”, Ekster’s way ahead of you and the technology game – each wallet comes with a solar panel that doesn’t need direct sunlight and also, lasts for two months with just three hours of charge time. Now that’s smart technology we can get behind.

We can guarantee two things with the Ekster card holder: it’s the ultimate hold-all with 12 slots and it will make you feel like a 007 Bond Girl: one click of a “trigger” makes six of them pop up for easy access.

Ekster’s products are now available on www.ekster.com with prices starting from USD$39 for a phone case to USD$89 for a wallet.