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There are numerous ways to pay at the checkout these days; cash, card, NFC mobile payments, and you can even write a check if you like getting nasty looks. But what about just holding up your hand? Amazon is rolling out palm-scanning tech called Amazon One in all 500+ Whole Foods stores this year, giving customers the option of waving their hand over the scanner to pay.
This payment option is not entirely new. Amazon began introducing Amazon One in select locations in 2020. It’s appeared in Amazon Go stores, live events, and a select number of Whole Foods locations in 20 different states. Expanding Amazon One to all Whole Foods will put it in front of more consumers than ever before.
Amazon One will rely on a circular scanner, which will pop up at Whole Foods registers and at special kiosks in the stores. To sign up, you’ll insert a card and then hold each hand over the scanner so it can associate your payment method with your hand, and that’s it. From then on, you can pay at Whole Foods by hovering a hand over the sensor. Amazon says that Prime subscribers will automatically have membership savings applied when using their hand to pay.
Amazon says the palm is a more secure biometric identifier than fingerprints or faces. The scanner maps the pattern of veins in your hand, which is unique to you. However, Amazon doesn’t save the map as an image. Instead, it uses palm data to create a numerical vector image that cannot be replicated. It then stores that in the AWS cloud.
You should always be wary of giving biometric data to any company, particularly if they’re going to store it in the cloud. However, palm vein structures are far from a universal method of identification. LG attempted to use palm scanning biometrics with the LG G8, which had a dedicated infrared scanner in its iPhone-like notch. It didn’t work very well, but the hardware was crammed into a phone. The Amazon One scanners are much larger and can therefore pulse more infrared light at your palm.
If you frequent Whole Foods and want to get your hand warmed up, you can begin the signup process online. After adding your payment info, you will have to find an Amazon One location to scan your hand. Alternatively, you can do the entire setup process in-store.
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