Amazon may soon deploy ports that allow buyers to pay for their purchases by simply waving their hands. Shoppers can literally just pay with their hands scanned quickly during checkouts.
The technology will reportedly connect customers' credit card information to their palms. This was according to unnamed sources that have spoken with The Wall Street Journal.
The development for the technology is still at its early stages but Amazon has reportedly gathered support and partnership with Visa, MasterCard, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Synchrony Financial. As part of the development, the sources said data would be collected from the existing payment terminals. The data will then be stored on Amazon clouds for further assessment.
The recent report from The Wall Street Journal seemed to confirm multiple reports in December when the US Patent and Trademark Office published a patent application from Amazon. The published file discussed in great detail the patent sought for a "touchless scanning system."
Accordingly, the technology allows identifying people not just by their faces but also by their palms. The technology is programmed to identify wrinkles and veins.
"The first set of images depict external characteristics, such as lines, and creases, in the user's palm while the second set of images depict internal anatomical structures, such as veins, bones, soft tissues, or other structures beneath the epidermis of the skin," the patent states.
In summary, the said technology will scan a person's hand as he enters Amazon stores. The scanned data will begin to process information and track the account associated with that person. The shopper will then pick up the items he needs and leave the store. The bill will reflect in their credit cards accordingly.
The patent also contained a list of the names of inventors who are mostly employees already working on Amazon Go. One of the investors identified was Dilip Kumar, head of technology for Amazon Go and is vice president for the company's physical retail initiatives.
Back in September, a separate report said Amazon was already testing the technology across different Amazon Go stores.
Amazon has yet to confirm or deny the reports, including the most recent report from The Wall Street Journal as of press time.
If reports were true, then Amazon joins in the list of big companies that are integrating artificial intelligence at a faster rate and bolder ways compared to their counterparts. And, Amazon is on the right track to pursue technology with big names in the banking industry. According to experts, the bank sector is leading in AI adoption because the technology can open up a $450-billion opportunity for the financial services.
