Fitbit is buying Coin so it can be more like the Apple Watch

Fitbit announced today that it is acquiring Coin, the maker of the smart credit card that allows you to combine multiple credit cards digitally into a single device. However, while it may seem like Fitbit is interested in getting the actual Coin device, they’re actually leaving that out of the deal completely. Instead, Fitbit wants Coin’s work on wearable forms of payment.

Basically, it wants to be like the Apple Watch.

It makes sense, too. If Fitbit is going to stand any chance of surviving the upcoming wave of smart watches and wearables, it’s going to have to offer some of the same features as them. Apple Pay, for example, is touted as one of the best features of the Apple Watch because it allows you to pay with just the tap of your wrist. I use almost anywhere I go that accepts NFC payments and I can’t tell you how much I love it. It’s truly awesome.

So when can you expect to see Coin’s technology in a Fitbit? Well, unfortunately it doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing anything this year. Instead, the company says they hope have something next year as Coin’s purchase “accelerates Fitbit’s ability to develop an active NFC payment solution”.

Fitbit says they closed the deal last week on May 12. Coin Rewards and the Coin Developer Program are being shut down immediately, but if you have a Coin card, they will remain under the company’s one-year warranty and continue functioning until the battery dies. After that, the Coin Card is dead.

Bummer.