Amazon introduced a new biometric device, Amazon One, that allowed customers to pay at Amazon Go stores using their palm. Today, the company says the device is being rolled out to additional Amazon stores in Seattle an expansion that will make the system available across eight total Amazon physical retail stores, including Amazon Go convenience stores, Amazon Go Grocery, Amazon Books and Amazon 4-star stores.
Starting today, the Amazon One system is being added as an entry option at the Amazon Go location at Madison & Minor in Seattle. In the next few weeks, it will also roll out to two more Amazon Go stores, at 5th & Marion and Terry & Stewart, the company says. That brings the system to eight Seattle locations, and sets the stage for a broader U.S. expansion in the months ahead.
It works by scanning your hand and identifying its unique characteristics like surface area details and vein patterns. Palm scanning technology has been around for a few years, and it’s pretty secure as biometric security methods go, though there are concerns about how Amazon might use the data gathered as part of the system.
Amazon has made Amazon One available as a payment option across a number of its own-branded physical stores around Seattle. But in the longer term, the company hopes the convenience factor of being able to confirm your identity using just your hand will convince third-party businesses to use the service, too; the Amazon One website invites other companies to contact its sales team. That might include other stores or even locations like offices where the system could replace the need for NFC ID tags.
