Proverbial Wallets
Financial sixth sense
We have trouble controlling our consumer impulses, and there's a gap between our decision and the consequences. This is magnified by the digitization of money. When we pull a product off the shelf, do we know what our bank account balance is, or whether we're over budget for the month? Our existing senses are inadequate to warn us.
The Proverbial Wallet gives us that financial sense at the point of purchase by un-abstracting virtual assets. Tactile feedback reflecting our personal balances and transactions helps us develop a subconscious financial sense that guides responsible decisions. In addition to providing a visceral connection to our virtual money, tactile output keeps personal information private and ambient.
Bumblebee
The wallet buzzes through a vibrating motor whenever your bank processes a transaction. This encourages a conscious connection between handing over your credit card and your hard-earned money being harvested from the bank, and alerts you to fraud when you get a buzz without making a purchase.
Mother Bear
The wallet protects the money within it when you need to be thrifty with a hinge that resists opening. It's non-intrusive, noticeable only when you use the wallet normally. This can be mapped to a monthly budget goal. It promotes saving to weather out financial winters.
Peacock
The wallet swells and shrinks to reflect the balance in your accounts. Your assets will be on display to attract potential mates.
Technical details
The Proverbial Wallets are working prototypes, tough enough to sit on. They communicate with a cellphone through Bluetooth, using its data connection to get financial information from the user's bank accounts. These are built using Information Ecology's Hands and Fingers platform.
Henry Holtzman, John Kestner, Daniel Leithinger, Emily Tow, Danny Bankman, Jaekyung Jung
Publication
John Kestner, Daniel Leithinger, Jaekyung Jung, Michelle Petersen, "Proverbial wallet: tangible interface for financial awareness," Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Tangible and Embedded Interaction, pp. 55-56, 2009, doi:10.1145/1517664.1517683
Boston Globe, “Sci-fi becomes the new reality,“ July 5, 2010.
Exhibited at Ars Electronica 2009