Amazon’s Creepy Palm Reading Payment System Is Taking Over Whole Foods

Amazon’s palm payment system has developed in tandem with its Just Walk Out cashierless checkout system. That system deploys a system of monitoring cameras, sensors, and AI that automatically detect what customers take off of shelves while they are shopping. Their credit cards are automatically billed once they exit the store.

Just Walk Out’s recent adoption by third party businesses provides a glimpse of what could come for One. Amazon previously partnered with Hudson to bring its technology to select small retail stores in Dallas Love Field and Chicago Midway Airport. Last year, the company incorporated Just Walk Out in its first full-size Fresh-branded grocery store. More recently in April the Houston Astros baseball team partnered with Amazon to use Just Walk Out in two stores within the stadium where fans can buy an assortment of souvenirs, snacks, soda, and ready-to-go booze.

With Just Walk Out and One, Amazon’s hoping a recent uptick and interest in cashierless, contactless payment systems accelerated by the pandemic will last long term. A survey conducted last year by Visa found that around half of small business owners and consumers spread out across eight countries thought contactless payments were one of the most important safety messages a store could provide. 47% of customers in that survey said they wouldn’t shop at a business that doesn’t offer a contactless payment option. Whether or not consumers will extend that same sentiment outward a payment system that collects and stores your unique biometrics traits however remains to be seen.

Betting against Amazon in this case though is probably a bad idea. The company has continually sucked up more and more data on its users over the course of its 28-year-history with little meaningful pushback in the opposite direction. An increasing share of consumers are embracing biometrics as well in the name of “convenience.” The Transportation Security Administration and a handful of commercial airlines have already begun rolling out “optional” facial recognition verification systems at check in and border crossing, both of which have seen increased use.