Amazon tests handprint payment technology to use in Whole Foods: Report
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Amazon is reportedly testing a new payment system that uses handprints for checkout, instead of a card or an app.
The e-commerce giant is testing the biometric scanners on vending machines in its New York offices with the hope of setting them up in its Whole Foods grocery stores, according to The New York Post.
A source told the Post that the technology doesn’t scan a person’s fingerprints and it doesn’t require people to touch the sensors in order for it to work.
The scanners actually identify the shape and size of the hand being scanned, which can be linked to a credit or debit card through Amazon Prime, the Post reported.
The system reportedly has been code-named “Orville” and is accurate to within ten-thousandth of 1%, according to the Post.
Using the system, a transaction can take less than 300 milliseconds, a source told the outlet.
Meanwhile, using a regular card takes between 3 and 4 seconds.
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An Amazon spokesperson told FOX Business on Tuesday night: “We don’t comment on rumors or speculation.”
The company has already been testing cashierless checkout technology -- using the Amazon app -- at its Amazon Go store locations for about a year, the Post reported.
However, using this new technology, customers won’t even need their phones to checkout.
In the Go locations, customers simply walk in and scan the items they would like to purchase on their Amazon app and walk out without any interaction with a cashier.
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The company uses cameras and sensors to detect which items customers remove from shelves. Customers are automatically charged for the cost of the items when they exit the location.
FOX Business’ Thomas Barrabi and Jade Scipioni contributed to this report.