Samsungs new Amex credit card can track you so you can find it
Companies have been trying to tie up online and offline purchase behaviours and data for years, and this seems like it plugs that gap for the benefit of the company.
Key takeaways
- Samsung says the card uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for this, rather than ultra wideband, which SmartThings Find can also use.
- How useful they are depends on whether they use UWB, BLE, or both (UWB enables precision finding, which BLE lacks) and what tracking network they use.
- AirTags tend to work pretty well for the most part, for instance, while anecdotally, second-gen AirPod Pros often just won’t show up in Apple’s Find My app at all.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2023) 'Samsungs new Amex credit card can track you so you can find it', 311 Institute, 11 September. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/samsungs-new-amex-credit-card-can-track-you-so-you-can-find-it/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
Samsung has debuted the IoT card, a credit card that can help the company track your activities even if you leave your smartphone at home – perhaps to help them better identify your habits for advertising purposes or track cross channel payments and collect higher quality payment data - that works with SmartThings Find.
That’s great if you live in South Korea, where the company offers it in partnership with KB Kookmin Card and American Express - so far, Samsung hasn’t announced a similar offering in the US. We’ve asked if it plans to and will update this post if the company responds.
The IoT card works like you’d expect it to. You add it to SmartThings Find, and then, like with Apple Find My, other Samsung devices that detect it will report its location back to you. This works whether the card is nearby or its owner has left it in another country. Samsung says the card uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for this, rather than ultra wideband, which SmartThings Find can also use.
In the US, if you want to do something similar, you’re not out of options. You could cram an Apple AirTag or a Samsung SmartTag into your wallet or pick up one of the many other tracking alternatives that come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. How useful they are depends on whether they use UWB, BLE, or both (UWB enables precision finding, which BLE lacks) and what tracking network they use.
They’re also not all created equal. AirTags tend to work pretty well for the most part, for instance, while anecdotally, second-gen AirPod Pros often just won’t show up in Apple’s Find My app at all.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
Companies have been trying to tie up online and offline purchase behaviours and data for years, and this seems like it plugs that gap for the benefit of the company.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Sources and further reading
- debuted the IoT card news.samsung.com
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 11 September 2023. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2023). Samsungs new Amex credit card can track you so you can find it. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/samsungs-new-amex-credit-card-can-track-you-so-you-can-find-it/
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