Amazon launches palm payment device

Amazon introduced Amazon One, a device that connects a user’s account and payment card with the palm of the hand for contactless shopping.

In a blog post, Dilip Kumar, Amazon’s VP of Retail and Technology, explained, that Amazon One is currently being tested at two Amazon Go stores in Seattle.

The device contains a scanner that records the “signature” of the user’s palm – a unique identifier of the person. Users insert their payment card, point their palm at Amazon One, and after Amazon One scans their palm, they are registered. The entire process is claimed to take less than a minute, and either an Amazon account or a phone number can be used during registration.

Kumar says that once this process is complete, all that what customers need to do to enter an Amazon Go store is to raise your hand.

Special algorithms and machine learning have been implemented to build a map of the palms using the device. However, the images are not stored locally – Amazon says the prints are encrypted and sent to the cloud with a high degree of security.

Human palms were chosen as biometric authenticators, as they require a “deliberate gesture” confidential as they cannot be identified by handprints alone.

Users can also delete their biometrics directly by logging into their Amazon account or through the online customer portal.

As believed company, this technology in the future may spread to other areas of trade and entertainment. Amazon intends to offer this technology to third parties, including other retail chains, stadiums, and offices.