Move over, cashless society – it looks like a cardless society might be just around the corner.
Amazon has announced that it plans to have integrated its revolutionary Pay-by-Palm into the more than 500 Whole Foods stores in the US by the end of 2023, and also revealed that the company is experiencing a “growing demand” for the technology from third parties.
The technology is already present in the ecommerce giant’s in-person Go stores as well as some restaurant and entertainment chains. A number of sports venues have also proven eager to adopt the futuristic payment method.
Amazon Will Install Pay-By-Palm Tech in 500 Whole Foods
This week, Amazon announced plans that its Amazon One biometric payment solution – which is already available to use in Amazon Go, Fresh and Amazon Books stores – will be integrated into every single Whole Foods store in the United States within months.
Plans to provide the technology to the grocery chain – which was purchased by Amazon in 2017 – were first announced back in 2021. It’s already available as a payment method in 200 Whole Foods stores nationwide.
Amazon explains that you can sign up for Amazon One online with your credit or debit card, Amazon account, and mobile number.
You’ll then be able to scan your palm over an Amazon One device at a Whole Foods Market store—or at another location where Amazon One is available – and after that, you’ll be ready to shop.
Amazon: Driving Us Towards a Cardless Revolution
As we’ve covered, it’s not just Whole Foods getting in on the action – there’s now a variety of different venues, restaurants, and stores that want a slice of the cardless action.
Panera Bread was announced as the first restaurant chain and one of the first non-Amazon retailers to adopt the technology back in March of this year – now, they have biometric restaurant POS systems in place in various locations across the country.
Travel retailer Hudson also has the biometric payment solution integrated into stores at Nashville International, Chicago Midway International, and the Dallas Love Field Airport. CREWS and OHM now also use it too, Amazon says.
Venues such as The Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Texas A&M’s Kyle Field, and The Coors Field baseball stadium in Denver all have the payment method available for supporters – with the latter selling alcohol via Amazon One – while the Hollywood Casino in Greektown, Detroit, is one of several entertainment venues where the technology is being utilized.
The tech giant said last month that Amazon One had “now been used more than a million times for entry, payment, and loyalty linking.”
There’s some time to go before biometric payment systems become ubiquitous in the US, but utterly frictionless financial transactions – without any need for cash or card – might arrive much sooner than first thought.
