Amazon Is Bringing Palm-Scanning Payments To Whole Foods Stores

If you live in Seattle, you'll soon be able to pay for your groceries using the palm of your hand — literally. Amazon has announced plans to bring its Amazon One palm-scanning payment tech to several of its Seattle-area Whole Foods stores, enabling customers to register their payment card to their palm signature for contact-free checkouts.

Amazon introduced the Amazon One contactless palm payment system in September 2020. The platform involves a device that can be used to register on the Amazon One system and to scan one's palm when entering and/or exiting a facility. According to Amazon, users register by inserting their payment card into the machine, then hovering their hand over the sensor.

The scanner works with computer vision tech to generate a unique palm signature for the customer, which is then associated with the credit card. Customers will be able to register one or both of their palms. Users don't need an Amazon account to register with Amazon One, but will need a phone number in addition to their payment card.

The company had said at the time that it planned to roll out Amazon One at more of its stores in the future, and now that time has come. In its latest update, Amazon said that it will deploy the palm-scanning payment system in several Seattle Whole Foods stores 'over the coming months.' One store — the Whole Foods destination on Madison Broadway — already has the tech in place.

Assuming you register with the system, you'll be able to pay for your items at these stores by hovering your palm over the scanner. There's the option of linking your Amazon One registration with an Amazon account in order to get the related Prime discounts in-store.