Image: Stewart/Stand Ever felt the need to replace your tattered, bulging, leather wallet with something closer to a solid metal case? Now you can. A new wallet made from industrial-grade stainless steel fabric promises to keep your money and credit cards safe – from rain, perspiration, spills and even identity thieves.

New York designer Theo Stewart-Stand created the steel wallet from the same finely woven, industrial steel that is used in aerospace applications, petroleum processing and metal doors and windows. Stewart-Stand tightened the weave of the steel so it is small and flexible enough to thread into fabric, but still stronger and far more durable than leather or suede. The resulting skinny wallet feels as smooth as silk – but doesn't stretch, is cool to the touch and, of course, can't be stained.

"It's a good conversation piece and elicits a lot of comments," says Paul Stewart-Stand, the designer's brother and business partner. "People see it at a dinner party and want to know where they can get one."

While developing the wallet, Theo Stewart-Stand inadvertently discovered an even more unique benefit. It turns out the stainless steel used in the wallet protects from the latest concern in identity theft: RFID hackers.

Many new ID products, such as no-swipe credit cards, corporate access key cards and the newest U.S. passports, include radio frequency identification, or RFID, tags that allow scanners to rapidly access information.

Unfortunately, identity thieves can also use simple, out-of-sight scanning devices to steal data from RFID tags, gathering your personal and financial information in one quick scan before you even open your wallet or bag. While credit card companies claim their no-swipe cards are encrypted and safe, several researchers have found that the information on RFID tags is shockingly easy to access. The stainless steel in the wallet acts as a safeguard, creating what physicists call a Faraday cage: a shield that blocks out external electrical fields, keeping everything in your pocket safe from high-tech pickpockets.

The wallets are available for between $80 and $125 online or at the Stewart/Stand store in Brooklyn.

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