Amazon One at Whole Foods: Palm Scanning for Payments

Amazon One Biometric Scanner Expands to Whole Foods

Amazon is now deploying its Amazon One palm-scanning technology to Whole Foods locations. This new biometric device, initially unveiled last autumn, enables shoppers to gain entry into stores simply by scanning their palm.

The palm signature obtained can be linked to a customer’s preferred payment method within a retail setting. This functionality mirrors that of Amazon’s cashier-less Amazon Go stores, where shoppers can complete their purchases and leave without traditional checkout procedures.

New Payment Option at Checkout

At Whole Foods, the Amazon One scanner will function as an additional payment choice during the checkout process. Customers will have the option to pay for their items by scanning their palm, offering an alternative to cash, credit, or debit cards.

Amazon emphasizes that this new method will not eliminate existing payment options.

Initial Rollout and Testing

The initial implementation of the Amazon One palm scanner will begin at the Whole Foods Market store on Madison Broadway in Seattle.

Plans are in place to extend the technology to seven further Whole Foods Market stores within the Seattle metropolitan area over the coming months. Seattle is anticipated to serve as a key test market before broader deployment is considered.

Existing Amazon One Locations

Since its September launch, Amazon One scanners have been installed in numerous Amazon stores throughout the Seattle region. These include Amazon Go, Amazon Go Grocery, Amazon Books, Amazon 4-star, and Amazon Pop Up locations.

The retailer reports that “thousands” of customers have already registered their palm signatures for use with the system.

Enrollment Process

Customers can enroll in Amazon One at dedicated kiosks or devices within participating Whole Foods stores. They have the flexibility to register either one or both palms.

The scanner utilizes computer vision technology to generate a unique palm signature, which is then associated with the customer’s inserted payment card.

Customers who have previously enrolled in Amazon One at other locations will need to re-insert their credit card once at the Whole Foods store to continue utilizing the service.

Integration with Amazon Prime

Customers will also have the ability to link their Amazon One ID to their Amazon account. This will allow Prime membership discounts to be automatically applied to their Whole Foods Market purchases through the Amazon One device in the future.

Whole Foods Market Statement

“At Whole Foods Market, we’re always looking for new and innovative ways to improve the shopping experience for our customers,” stated Arun Rajan, senior vice president of technology and chief technology officer at Whole Foods Market.

“Working closely with Amazon, we’ve brought benefits like Prime member discounts, online grocery delivery and pickup, and free returns to our customers, and we’re excited to add Amazon One as a payment option beginning today.”

He added, “We’re starting with an initial store at Madison Broadway in Seattle and look forward to hearing what customers think as we expand this option to additional stores over time.”

Privacy Concerns

The introduction of this device naturally raises privacy concerns, considering Amazon’s history with biometric technologies. The company has previously provided biometric facial recognition services to law enforcement agencies.

Furthermore, its facial recognition technology has been the subject of data privacy litigation, and its Ring camera company continues to collaborate with police departments.

Past issues with indefinite storage of Alexa voice recordings, though later addressed, also contribute to these concerns.

Recent Technology Tests

Recently, Amazon announced trials of other retail and augmented reality technologies in a London hair salon, involving cameras capturing customer images.

While the company stated it wasn’t retaining “customer data,” it declined to elaborate on the collection of non-personal data at the salon.

Amazon’s Security Measures

In its announcement, Amazon asserts that the Amazon One device is “protected by multiple security controls, and palm images are never stored on the Amazon One device.”

The company explains that images are encrypted and transmitted to a secure cloud environment specifically designed for Amazon One, where customer palm signatures are created.

Customers are also provided with a means to unenroll from Amazon One, either through the device itself or via one.amazon.com, which also results in the deletion of their biometric data upon completion of all transactions.