In September 2020, Amazon introduced a payment technology – Amazon One that will enable customers to pay with their palm print.
"We believe Amazon One has broad applicability beyond our retail stores, so we also plan to offer the service to third parties like retailers, stadiums and office buildings so that more people can benefit from this ease and convenience in more places," Dilip Kumar, vice-president of physical retail & technology at Amazon in September 2020.
Amazon One works by scanning a palm print and connecting it to a credit card. After that, a shopper holds their palm above a sensor to pay for groceries or books.
The technology, which made its debut on the company's Amazon Go stores in Seattle last fall, has now been expanded to its Whole Food stores in the Seattle area. According to Business Insider, "The company announced the payment system, called Amazon One, would be available at its Whole Foods store on Madison Broadway on Wednesday."
Shoppers can enrol in the new payment system at an Amazon One kiosk or using one of the devices at the Seattle Amazon stores.
"The sign-up process takes about one minute, according to the company. It requires shoppers to insert their credit or debit card and hover their hand face-down over the palm reader." Business Insider.
Privacy concerns have been raised about the security of the technology - the technology Amazon uses to link a customer's palm signature with their credit card.
According to Paige Bartley, senior research analyst, Biometric information is at higher risk of malicious actors, hackers and targeted attacks because the data can't be changed if it's compromised.
The move comes after the Covid-19 pandemic propelled a demand for contactless payment to mitigate the spread of the virus. The company plans to expand the biometric technology to seven other stores in the coming months.
