Okay, everybody. Time to hit the club. No one’s checking IDs anymore.
Alright, that’s not actually what is happening here. If you’ve ever purchased alcohol, you’ve likely been asked to show your driver’s license. At least, until you reach a certain age and you’re now so old that someone can just look at you and know there’s no chance you are young. That’s a great feeling.
That sad life event aside, you still may occasionally be asked to show an ID when you purchase a beer, especially at a ball game. Amazon is looking to solve that issue with Amazon One’s palm recognition technology that it has already rolled out to some retailers like Panera. The technology recognizes your palmprint instead of having to show a membership card or code from your phone.
While its been used so far to do things like link a Panera membership to a purchase in-store, Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball team, is looking to take things to the next level: age verification. In a press release, Amazon announced that its palm reader will now work with age verification.
That doesn’t mean that it will read your palm and tell you your age, but that customers who use the service can upload their ID and a selfie in order to verify their age with Amazon One. Once done, they’ll be able to buy a beer at the stadium without showing their ID from any stand that has one of the devices.
John McKay, senior director of food service operations and development for the Colorado Rockies, said in a statement that the feature was highly requested by attendees as it makes things even more convenient and speeds up wait times.
“At Coors Field, we have always prided ourselves in putting customer experience first. As the first sports stadium to enable cutting-edge palm recognition technology like Amazon One for age verification, we are enabling a friction-free experience for Colorado Rockies fans so they can grab a drink and get back to the game faster. Hearing from Amazon One customers across the country, we understand that they love the convenience it delivers: shorter wait times, quick access to buildings and locations, being able to link their loyalty memberships, and now an easy way to grab their beer.”
Amazon says that Coors Field is the first location to be compatible with age verification but that the company will be rolling out the feature to more locations “in the coming months.”
I’m already incredibly hesitant to give any kind of biometric to anyone. I do so with Apple and Face ID due to the company’s hard stance on privacy and its clarity about how the information is kept on the device and separate from the rest of the information. But Amazon…I can’t get there yet. So, continuing to give that company even more information about me is a hard no.
That said, for those who are comfortable, this will surely make buying a beer at the ball game easier than ever. I’ll be fine showing my ID, though. Sorry for holding up the line, everyone.
