Amazon is introducing its palm scanning technology to a Whole Foods store in Seattle, WA.
The company launched its palm scanner called Amazon One in September last year. Since its launch, it has been expanded to a dozen Amazon grocery stores.
The biometric checkout device scans palm prints to authorize payments, enable access to physical spaces, or provide access to transit, among other things. It works much like a fingerprint reader on smartphones, except the device is larger, stationary and installed at the point of sale or entrance. Shoppers who use it first must insert their credit card to link up their payment details to their palm print. Once a user has been registered, they simply have to scan their palm at the kiosk to make payments.
Amazon plans to introduce the palm scanning technology at seven other Whole Foods stores in the coming months and is aiming to also sell the technology to other retailers, office buildings and stadiums.
While Amazon said last September that it was actively discussing plans to extend the offering to several potential customers, it remains unclear whether it has signed any agreements with third parties, CNBC reported.
According to Amazon, thousands of customers have signed up to use Amazon One at its stores. The use of the technology has reportedly prompted privacy experts to raise alarm over the risks of handing biometric data to private companies, who already capture way too much personal data.
Amazon, however, maintains that its palm scanning technology is highly secure and more private than other biometric technologies such as facial recognition.