Amazon’s palm recognition technology has been rolling out at a number of businesses over the last year or so, but one Amazon actually owns wasn’t on the list. The day has finally come, though, as paying with your palm is coming to every Whole Foods in the country.
In a press release, Amazon announced that its palm recognition technology will be launching in all 500+ Whole Foods stores in the United States. When used, customers will be able to use their Prime benefits and make a payment simply by scanning their palm.
By the end of this year, all 500+ Whole Foods Market locations in the U.S. will offer Amazon One for payment and Prime membership benefits. This means Whole Foods Market customers who choose to use Amazon One will no longer need their wallet or even a phone to pay—they can simply hover their palm over an Amazon One device. For Prime members who link their Amazon One profile with their Amazon account, savings will automatically be applied. It’s that simple.
Leandro Balbinot, chief technology officer at Whole Foods Market, said in a statement that its palm recognition technology is another way it can “delight” customers.
“We are always looking for new ways to delight our customers and improve the shopping experience. Since we’ve introduced Amazon One at Whole Foods Market stores over the past two years, we’ve seen that customers love the convenience it provides, and we’re excited to bring Amazon One to all of our customers across the U.S.”
You can watch what the signup and checkout experience will be like for those who want to try out what the company is calling “Amazon One Palm Payment” below:
The palm recognition technology is already operational in around 200 Whole Foods stores, so it’s not surprising to see Amazon bring it to the rest of them. Other places like Panera and even Coors Field have deployed the technology to let customers get membership benefits and make purchases — even for beer — without needing to provide a credit card or ID.
I’m still incredibly hesitant to give my palmprint to Amazon. For now, I’ll definitely stick with trusting Apple with Face ID. Who knows! Convenience is known to trump privacy for many, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see most people adopt the technology.
