Dozens of stores getting Amazon palm biometrics readers nationwide

Amazon’s palmprint biometric payment readers are moving from a few prestige Whole Food locations in the United States to dozens of stores in California.

According to reporting by consumer tech publication Engadget, at least 65 Whole Foods in the state will install palm-payment electronics enabling shoppers to pay for groceries by holding their hands over the black reader bolted to the edge of a register bed. It will be connected to a pad displaying orders.

The service is called One. Until recently, it was deployed in four Whole Food stores in tech (and fashion) hubs Los Angeles, New York City, Seattle and Austin.

Coming soon, according to the article, are locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Orange County, Santa Cruz, Malibu, Santa Monica and Sacramento. Los Angeles will get more terminals.

The One website says the terminals can be found in 70 sites nationwide right now, mostly Amazon’s Whole Foods and Go stores, but also in other retail locations. A few are Hudson Nonstop stores in a couple airports, the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, a New York Starbucks and some smaller brands.

None are in Illinois, home to the Biometric Information Privacy Act. Privacy advocates are skeptical of One and Amazon’s ability to ensure consumers have control over their biometric identifiers.

Enrollment is needed, including getting your palm scanned and linking that biometric data to a credit account.

Article Topics

Amazon  |  Amazon One  |  biometrics  |  consumer adoption  |  palm biometrics  |  payments