No need to bring your wallet to the grocery store.
Key details
Amazon is expanding its Amazon One palm-scanning technology to 65 Whole Food stores in California. The checkout devices were first introduced in 2020 as part of the Amazon One payment service, allowing customers to pay with a scan of their palm.
Several Whole Foods locations have already been testing the palm-scanning technology in the Los Angeles area as well in Austin, Seattle, and New York. It’s also available at the company’s Amazon Style store in Glendale, California, and at select Amazon Go and Fresh stores, says The Verge.
How it works
The program links the customers’ palm print to their credit card information, and once registered, all customers have to do is hover their hand over the device. Amazon says the new technology is a quick and easy way to make a payment, enter a venue, or identify yourself.
Amazon reassures customers that their information is safe and not stored in the device. The technology has “multiple layers of security controls are used to protect data, including encryption and data isolation.”
The company says they chose the palm because no two are alike. Your palm consists of multiple layers of distinguishing features that make it safe, easy and convenient.
Backing it up a bit
This new Amazon One rollout is part of the company’s campaign to change the shopping experience for customers by making it faster and easier to pay. These new features accompany its previous endeavor of Just Walk Out Stores, where customers can just walk out without even stopping to pay with innovative sensor technology.
Amazon has based its business on convenience. Starting with online shopping, Alexa devices, ring cameras, and most recently iRobots that clean your house, but give all your personal data to Amazon. All of these features being in your house is a growing concern for privacy advocates, according to The Verge.