Amazon has long been at the forefront of offering new technology in a wide array of sectors.
Recently, the company decided to launch a new device called the Amazon One, which is used to conduct contactless payments.
The system is in place in two Amazon Go locations and is certainly a useful product given the need to socially distance during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020.
Amazon One is fully hands-free and could be useful in a number of areas moving forward. This includes things like giving access to certain areas or serving as a person’s loyalty card.
The Amazon One is currently being used by the tech giant for its own matters, but this fairly new palm print reader technology could certainly be the wave of the future by others.
This industry is already growing but the pandemic has really accelerated it even further, and it places Amazon in a very solid position for now.
Some polling recently indicated that contactless payments is a growing want for customers. A Harris poll that took 2,000 adults resulted in seven out of 10 responses that declared no human contact was preferred during a shopping trip.
In fact, a third of these customers answered the poll by going so far as to say they “would be OK with” not ever having to purchase a product in a physical store ever again.
Visa conducted a similar survey in August which concluded approximately 63% of consumers were willing to switch brands based on whether or not they had a contactless payment option.
Of course, many of these sentiments might be further amplified by the timing of the polls and the fact that the coronavirus pandemic continues to play a major concern in the average person’s life.
However, the constant push toward new technology should continue to help this form of payment much more commonplace even without an active pandemic.
This form of technology may also cut certain overhead costs for the e-commerce giant.
The Amazon One itself appears to be similar to many of the smartphone readers typically seen on the cash registers of today.
However, the device can actually recognize a person’s palm if a person holds their hand at a close enough distance.
This is then linked directly to that person’s credit card, which essentially means the only thing a customer needs to touch in the store is the actual items they are purchasing.
More statistics seem to indicate customers also think these kinds of transactions are actually more secure too. 53% said so in another survey from Paysafe, a payments platform.
Additional polls have also indicated customers certainly are willing to consider this new form of payment at least when it comes to banking.
Facial recognition might also be next in line perhaps a bit further down the road, though.
Clearly, the stats and spike in need for these kinds of products is an indicator that consumers will likely be seeing them used more frequently in the near future.
