Amazon's palm payment technology will be a common sight at every US Whole Foods store by the end of the year.
The tech giant will roll out Amazon One across over 500 Whole Foods stores by the end of 2023, it said in"This means Whole Foods Market customers who choose to use Amazon One will no longer need their wallet or even a phone to pay—they can simply hover their palm over an Amazon One device," Amazon said in the post. Customers who link their Amazon One account with their Prime details will also get discounts when they use the payment method, the company said.
Amazon's technology links a user's credit card or other payment information to their unique palm print. Besides Whole Foods, Amazon has also used the technology at its Amazon Go convenience stores. It has also licensed it for use to other retail operations, such as Panera Bread and the concession stands at Coors Field in Denver.
The palm-scanning technology has received criticism from privacy advocates. They say that Amazon is collectingAmazon says that customers have to opt-in to using One, and the data from those who do is"securely collected." Amazon One is part of a variety of data-collecting initiatives that Amazon has. They range from healthcare ventures to iRobot, the company behind the Roomba vacuum, and many of them raise privacy concerns,Subscribe to push notificationsNOW WATCH: Amazon wants to open 3,000 cashier-less grocery stores — and they'll have a major advantage over their competitors