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In an effort to make payments as quick and secure as possible, Amazon is testing a new handprint payment option at select Whole Foods stores.
Amazon is testing biometric scanners on vending machines in their New York offices. After this trial run, they plan to pilot them at Whole Foods. What makes this type of technology extremely interesting is that it doesn’t scan a person’s fingerprints or even require a touch sensor to activate the transaction.
What does happen, however, is the scanner will identify the shape and size of the hand being scanned. This information can then be linked to a credit or debit card through Amazon Prime. The system has been nicknamed “Orville” and has been accurate to within ten-thousandth of 1%.
Your transaction time will take less than 300 milliseconds instead of the three to four seconds that are needed for a card transaction. Amazon has already been trying to speed up transactions with their Amazon Go store locations for a little over a year by utilizing cashier-less checkout technology.
For these transactions to take place, customers walk up and scan the items they would like to purchase on their Amazon app and walk right out of the store. Throughout your shopping experience, cameras and sensors are detecting which items you are removing from the shelves and your card is charged once you exit the location.
It is only going to become faster and more convenient to shop on a daily basis. This ease of access could spell bad news for people who love to shop!
