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Amazon to Offer Palm-Scanning as Option for Entry Into Stores

Amazon is starting to offer a palm-scanning option as a method of enabling people to enter its stores.

Amazon to Offer Palm-Scanning as Option for Entry Into Stores
An Amazon.com Inc. warehouse stands on the bank of the River Rhine in Biebersheim, Germany. (Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg)

Amazon is starting to offer a palm-scanning option as a method of enabling people to enter its stores, according to a blog post.

Initially, palm-based scanners will be available as an entry option at two Amazon Go stores in Seattle, but the company said in its blog post on Tuesday that it’s in “active discussions” to introduce the technology in third-party stores.

The system, called ‘Amazon One,’ could be used for paying at a store, presenting a loyalty card, or entry into places such as offices or stadiums, just by hovering your hand over a scanner.

Amazon said 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,” according to the blog post.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.