Parliament Wallet – Review

Parliament Wallet
Ekster
https://ekster.com/
$79 USD Wallet / $29 USD Tracker Card

Ekster Parliament Wallet is a minimalistic leather smart wallet. It includes a built in cardholder that can hold up to six cards that eject and fan out with the press of a button. The wallet also features RFID blocking technology that protects the cards against skimming. An optional tracking card keeps track of your wallets location using Bluetooth and an app using QR code. The Parliament Wallet is available in ten different colors and is also available in Italian leather. 

Packaging for the Parliament Wallet is exceptional. The credit card holder is filled with black cards containing directions and company information. QR codes lead you to manuals and the app required for the tracker card. My one complaint is that the writing on the box is very hard to see since it’s done in dark text on the dark box. Otherwise, everything is very elegantly done. Once the box is opened, the smell of leather hits you and you are ready to setup the tracking card. 

To set up the tracker card, download the Chipolo app, launch it and follow along. You will need to register an account, configure iOS permissions and give the card a name. You can now ring the card from your phone and ring the phone from the card by double pressing the button on the card.  On the back of the card is a QR code which will lead you to join the Chipolo community. This will allow anyone who finds the wallet to scan the code to allow you to track the location of it. Lastly, place the tracking card in the outside pocket of the wallet.  Optionally you can setup Alexa, Google or Siri to work with the card. I was able to get Alexa to work and could ask it to find my wallet, but like most things, it is a lot easier to just use your phone.

Without any doubt, the toughest part of setting up the wallet is figuring out how to get all the stuff that was in the old bulky wallet into the new wallet. It took a lot of soul searching to decide what I need to carry with me and what I don’t. After going through everything in there, I found a good amount of cards that were expired or not needed. I then rediscovered Apple Wallet and put as many of the cards in there as I could. Lastly, I found some things that I probably didn’t need to carry with me but I wasn’t sure. I researched and downloaded an iOS app called KeepSafe which stores ID cards in a password protected area that syncs to their cloud. The app is free for most features and seems to be doing the job. Now I was able to load my most used cards in the card holder, IDs and other cards in the other pockets and cash in the elastic strap. 

Living with the Parliament Wallet has been interesting, but pleasurable. It is so much smaller and less bulkier then my old wallet and fits great in either my back or front pocket. Putting the cards in the holder and ejecting them out works perfectly. Getting other cards and IDs out of the other pockets is no problem and the cash strap does the job. Time will tell whether I will feel the need for more space, but for now I can easily live with the change. The tracking card works pretty well. I found that you can’t force quit the Chipolo app on the iOS app if you want to keep tracking or want to ping your phone from the wallet. Other then that, the range is good and the app and website easily locate my wallet. 

Equally important, the Ekster Parliament Wallet looks terrific. My review unit came in classic brown and the leather is soft and smells great. For $20 more, Ekster offers an Italian leather version of the wallet that improves the leather a bit, however the regular version is terrific. The website actually shows what the wallet will look like after it ages, so it will be neat to see how mine looks in a few weeks.  If you wan’t to take the plunge and move to a smaller and high tech wallet, the Parliament is the way to do it. 

MyMac Review Rating is 9 out of 10. A better wallet for living a minimalistic lifestyle. A little more room would be welcome, but it does a great job and looks great doing it.