Amazon One: a new secure payment technology

 

Thanks to a new system by Amazon One, shoppers will be able to process payments in a safer way. This technology allows them to checkout in retail stores via just a simple wave of their hands.

It comes in the form of a scanner that registers the image of consumers’ hands. They have to let their palm stand still in mid-air over it for ‘approximately a second or so’. The firm is going to test this authentication solution at two of Amazon's physical stores in Seattle. However, the company is already negotiating with other parties to roll it to more shops soon. According to the e-commerce giant, Amazon One “could become an alternate payment or loyalty card option with a device at the checkout counter next to a traditional point of sale system”. Additionally, it could also be used for other purposes, such as entering locations like stadiums or in lieu of ID cards to get into your workplace.

Authentication procedures involving palms are not really new on the market. Some solutions are already available commercially. Dr Basel Halak of the Electronics and Computer Science School at the University of Southampton advances that this identification technology works by capturing the vein patterns of the hand.

Amazon has a palm-identification payment system  - Royalty-free image 

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