Amazon is testing a new way to pay: with your palm.
In a release on its blog today, Amazon introduces Amazon One, a biometric scanner that lets shoppers associate their credit card with one or both palms:
Today, our physical retail team is excited to introduce a new innovation called Amazon One. Amazon One is a fast, convenient, contactless way for people to use their palm to make everyday activities like paying at a store, presenting a loyalty card, entering a location like a stadium, or badging into work more effortless. The service is designed to be highly secure and uses custom-built algorithms and hardware to create a person’s unique palm signature.
The blog goes on to explain that users are able to enroll one or both palms with the scanning device and assures that privacy concerns are paramount. Amazon says it chose palm recognition because it is more private than biometric alternatives and assures that images of users’ palms are not stored on the device, but encrypted and kept in a custom-built, secure area in the cloud. Amazon also claims that users can delete their personal information if they decide not to use the application.
Currently, Amazon One is being tested in the retail giant’s two Seattle-area Amazon Go stores and does not require an Amazon account, but their blog suggests that the payment ID system could work in situations outside of retail check out, such as stadiums and office buildings.
Interested in adding Amazon One to your business? Head on over to the Amazon One page and inquire within.