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Dimapur, Sep. 29 (EMN): Amazon on Tuesday introduced the Amazon One, a new biometric device that enables customers to make contactless payments using their palm at Amazon Go stores. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Amazon said that they wanted to “help improve experiences like paying at the checkout, presenting a loyalty card, entering a location like a stadium, or even badging into work.”
Amazon One is currently undergoing trial at two Amazon Go stores in Seattle, Canada. Amazon has informed that it expects Amazon One to be an alternative payment option available to customers in additional Amazon stores in the coming months. However, the company has confirmed that Amazon One won’t replace the other ways to enter the stores.
How Amazon One works
The device is a scanner of sorts and it uses computer vision technology in real-time to create the unique palm signature. Why the palm? Well, for starters, Amazon thinks the “contactless payment” idea is a great one. In their own words, they want “a quick, reliable, and secure way for people to identify themselves or authorize a transaction while moving seamlessly through their day.”
According to Amazon, “One reason was that palm recognition is considered more private than some biometric alternatives because you can’t determine a person’s identity by looking at an image of their palm. It also requires someone to make an intentional gesture by holding their palm over the device to use. And it’s contactless, which we think customers will appreciate, especially in current times. Ultimately, using a palm as a biometric identifier puts customers in control of when and where they use the service.”
How to use Amazon One
Amazon explains, “The first step is to insert your credit card. Next, hover your palm over the device and follow the prompts to associate that card with the unique palm signature being built for you by our computer vision technology in real-time. You’ll have the option to enrol with just one palm or both. And that’s it-you're now signed up. Once you’re enrolled, to use Amazon One to enter these Amazon Go stores, you’ll just hold your palm above the Amazon One device at the entry for about a second or so, and be on your way.”
Accessibility and privacy
The device doesn’t require a customer to have an Amazon account to enter the store – a mobile phone and a credit card will be enough. Customers can associate their Amazon account if they want to track their transaction history. There is also an option to add a second palm print if necessary.
Amazon says that they take “data security and privacy seriously” and has assured that “any sensitive data is treated in accordance with our long-standing policies.”
Amazon informed that the Amazon One device is protected by multiple security controls and palm images are not stored on the device but rather in the cloud where they are encrypted. Since each palm signature is associated with a payment card, it is paramount that Amazon gets the security part of the palm payment system right.
What the future holds
The company envisions the device being used by third-parties including stadiums and office buildings, as well as other non-Amazon retailers. Although it is unclear if any third-party retailer would trust Amazon to host its customer transaction data and to what extent, it is a novel idea and an increasingly relevant one at least in 2020. Given that Amazon’s historical use of biometric products has always been controversial, it will be interesting to see how Amazon’s approach to an alternative payment system will be received by its customers.