While many of us now use our phones to pay for stuff, there are still many establishments that only take cards and the occasional cash. While it may not stay that way forever, the wallet remains a necessary accessory for now. And if you’re going to carry a wallet, it might as well be a proper modern billfold like the Ekster Parliament Wallet.
Billed as a “smart wallet,” it bundles all the modern conveniences found in many modern wallets, from keeping your cards and stashing your cards to blocking RFID signals and quick-sliding your card for easy access. It goes one step further, though, integrating unique features that allow you to locate your wallet when you can’t find it, saving you from the panic of running around trying to find where you left earlier this morning.
The Ekster Parliament Wallet is a leather wallet with a built-in aluminum storage case inside that can hold up to six cards, although that can go down to four or five, depending on how many of the cards are embossed. Designed to facilitate quick access to all the cards, it has button on the side that instantly releases them, causing each one to slide up, allowing you to pick off exactly which one you need to use at any moment. Whether you need your ATM card to take money out from a machine, your credit card to pay for dinner, or your Metro pass for the last mile of your morning commute, this thing will let you get to it a lot faster than traditional billfolds will allow.
Aside from the card case, there also slots on the inside for additional cards, albeit without the sliding mechanism, allowing you to carry up to a dozen cards if you need. There’s also a strap for securing cash, receipts, and other small paper matter, so you can still carry bills – just not the thick stacks you used to do during earlier times.
The Ekster Parliament Wallet also comes with an optional tracker card that you can use to easily find it in the immediate vicinity. It uses Chipolo’s Bluetooth tracking technology, so the companion app (iOS and Android) should be able to show you the location of your phone within a 200-foot range, ensuring you’ll easily be able to find it, so long as you lose it at home, work, or some other familiar place. If you lose it in a public place, though, good luck, as you better hope you’ve got some fine Samaritans in that place to keep your wallet from turning into someone else’s billfold.
The tracker, by the way, comes with a built-in solar charger, with three hours’ worth of charge keeping it powered for up to three months at a time. That means, the tracker should keep running, provided the electronics stay intact, allowing you to use this to protect your wallet for the foreseeable future.
The Ekster Parliament Wallet is available now, priced at $79. Adding the optional tracker tacks on an extra $29 to the price.