Amazon brings palm payment technology to all Whole Foods locations
Forget your wallet and your phone on your next grocery trip? No problem. At Amazon's (AMZN) Whole Foods, shoppers can now pay with the palms of their hands.
On Thursday, the consumer tech giant announced plans to bring its palm-payment technology, dubbed Amazon One, to all 500-plus Whole Foods locations in the US by the end of this year. This means customers can hover their hand over an Amazon One device at checkout to pay with the card linked to their Amazon account and automatically apply savings.
Currently, the technology is available at more than 200 locations in the US in states including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, among others.
Shoppers can pre-enroll in Amazon One with their credit or debit card, Amazon account, and mobile number online (this takes about a minute), then complete the enrollment process by scanning their palm at a Whole Foods or any other location where the technology is available.
Panera Bread introduced Amazon One at two St. Louis-based locations earlier this year with plans to offer it at 10 to 20 more stores near Amazon's headquarters in Seattle.
Then-Panera Brands CEO Niren Chaudhary told Yahoo Finance he expected it to "spread pretty quickly."
He added, "I just see this as a natural evolution of using biometric technology to drive convenience, loyalty identification, and payment," similar to how it's being used in airports and supermarkets.
Amazon One is also available at Coors Field (TAP),home of the Colorado Rockies MLB team, where it is used to check the ages of fans who buy alcohol. Other locations include gyms and airports, among others.
Whole Foods Market CTO Leandro Balbinot said since the company introduced the technology at locations two years ago, the company has heard that "customers love the convenience."
This expansion of Amazon One comes as Wall Street continues to applaud Amazon's stock. Year-to-date shares are up nearly 57% and up 11% compared to a year ago.
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Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com.
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