Amazon.com announced that it is rolling out its biometrics technology Amazon One as a payment option at Whole Foods stores in the Seattle area over the coming months.
The multinational company had introduced Amazon One as a fast, convenient, contactless way for people to use their palm to enter, identify, and pay.
After introducing the Amazon One service last September, the company added it as an entry and payment option at several Amazon stores in the Seattle area, including Amazon Go, Amazon Go Grocery, Amazon Books, Amazon 4-star, and Amazon Pop Up.
Amazon said that thousands of customers have signed up for the service, and feedback has been great—customers have shared they appreciate how quick it is to enroll and use, and that its contactless nature has been helpful in our current environment.
Customers who are new to using Amazon One can sign up at any Amazon One kiosk or device in participating stores, and enrollment takes less than a minute.
After they insert their credit card, customers hover their palm over the device and follow the prompts to associate that card with the unique palm signature being built in real-time for them by Amazon’s computer vision technology.
Customers will have the option to enroll with just one palm or both.
Once enrolled, customers can use Amazon One to pay at participating Whole Foods Market stores in about a second or so.
If customers have previously signed up for Amazon One at an Amazon store, they may need to re-insert their credit card one time at an Amazon One device in a Whole Foods Market so they can continue to use the service in those stores.
If customers choose to link their Amazon One ID with their Amazon account, they can automatically get their Prime member discount as usual at Whole Foods Market.
“Working closely with Amazon, we’ve brought benefits like Prime member discounts, online grocery delivery and pickup, and free returns to our customers, and we’re excited to add Amazon One as a payment option beginning today.
We’re starting with an initial store at Madison Broadway in Seattle and look forward to hearing what customers think as we expand this option to additional stores over time.”
said Arun Rajan, Senior Vice President of Technology and Chief Technology Officer at Whole Foods Market.