Whole Foods Market lets Denver shoppers pay with wave of a palm

Shoppers at 11 Whole Foods Market stores throughout the Denver area can now pay at check out with just the wave of a palm.

The supermarket chain recently introduced Amazon One: a service that lets patrons enroll their palms, then link their debit or credit cards to them. Afterward, there’s no need to pay with cash or cards –  shoppers just hold their palms over the device, then they’ve bought their groceries.

The stores implementing the new option include:

  • Belmar
  • Cherry Creek
  • Colfax
  • Colorado Boulevard
  • Governor’s Ranch
  • Highlands Ranch
  • Ideal Market Denver
  • SouthGlenn
  • Tamarac
  • Union Station
  • Washington Park

Amazon One can be found across the U.S. at Panera Bread restaurants and more than 100 Whole Foods Market locations. Select airport stores and sports stadiums, such as Seattle’s T-Mobile Park and Phoenix’s NASCAR Raceway, also utilize the new technology.

Amazon One chooses “the most distinct identifiers on your palm to create your palm signature,” with the images encrypted and sent to the cloud. The corporation points to it as more private than other biometric technologies.

In recent years, these technologies are growing in popularity, with Apple’s Face ID used by iPhone owners constantly and CLEAR serving as an airport security alternative nationwide.

But Amazon’s new technology has already received criticism – largely within the music community, with nonprofit music coalition Fight for the Future leading the charge over privacy concerns. Red Rocks Amphitheatre made the decision to abandon it last year after its introduction in 2021 because of technical tweaks, said Brian Kitts, communications manager for Denver Arts & Venues.

At a Whole Foods store in Centennial, another new technology will soon be rolled out: Amazon Dash Cart, a smart cart that lets shoppers login, scan products and skip the checkout line. Instead, patrons can exit through the Amazon Dash Cart lane, with the groceries paid for with the cards linked to their Amazon accounts.

While these carts are already in Amazon Fresh Stores, the Whole Foods store at 6853 S. York St. will be the chain’s fourth to use them.

Source: Read Full Article