The future of payment processing is here with biometric scanning
Our technology is like, weirdly obsessed with us. It recognizes our voices, our fingerprints, and it knows which friend is which in a group photo. Our vacuums are even casing our houses. I’ve had boyfriends who didn’t know me as well as my iPad does.
Sure, it’s a little creepy and invasive, but there is something sort of comforting about being known and loved in this time of isolation. We’re not quite in the high-tech world that the Jetsons had in mind yet. It’s more like the Matrix just before we all get in those goo-pods and become batteries.
But Amazon is getting us one step closer with the new “Amazon One” technology. It allows you to make a purchase by magically waving your hand over a scanner that reads your hand like a credit card. The end goal for this cool trick is not only to pay at stores, but to also apply it more broadly. Think for ticket entry at stadiums or employee badges at office buildings.
While this touchless tech seems great during a pandemic, civil liberties advocates are concerned that Amazon is storing biometric information on their customers, risking their privacy. To which I say, “Duh.”
Alternatively, Amazon says this might actually be safer because “you can’t determine a person’s identity by looking at an image of their palm.” One can only guess they know this because they’ve tried with no luck. But my thumb print unlocks my phone, so I’m skeptical.
It would be nice to not have to carry a purse, but what if there is a belt sander accident and my palm print changes? Or what if I have a hand twin? Do I carry around a mannequin hand for the rest of my life instead? I. HAVE. QUESTIONS.
Amazon is starting to work these kinks out, as this technology has already debuted in some stores.
It’s crazy to think that society will be accepting these Gringotts Wizard style payments, but the reality is this and similar security technology (eye scan, facial recognition, etc.) will be joining our normal payment methods soon. I still can’t even get my chip to work, and we’re on to high fives? But the end result should mean a faster and easier checkout process than ever. And hey, I’m all for anything that gets me out of line faster and easier after my card is rejected, so game on.
Hey palm reader, I already know what my fortune is: Credit card debt.
