Amazon discontinuing Amazon One palm payment at retailers in June
Amazon is pulling the plug on retail use of a groundbreaking biometric customer payment solution it rolled out during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In post on the Amazon One FAQ page, the online giant announced that as of June 3, 2006, the contactless Amazon One palm-based recognition service will be discontinued at all retail businesses. These include stores, sports venues, gyms, or any other businesses currently using the services for payment or entry but exclude healthcare settings until further notice.
[READ MORE: New York University health provider deploying Amazon palm scanning]
Other entry and payment methods currently offered at each retail location will continue to work, including payment and entry using credit card and QR code.
"In response to limited customer adoption, we're discontinuing Amazon One, our authentication service for facility access and payment,” an Amazon spokesperson said in an email to Chain Store Age. “All customer data associated with Amazon One will be securely deleted after the service ends."
According to the blog post, Amazon One user data that will be deleted includes name, phone number, email, palm data, and any associated credit card or ID information. Users can request access to their data before it is deleted.
Introduced in September 2020, Amazon One is a proprietary, generative AI-based technology that lets customers use their palm signature to pay or present a loyalty card at a store, as well as perform activities like enter a stadium or badge into work. The solution uses custom-built algorithms and hardware to create a person’s unique palm signature.
The company is phasing out Amazon One in the retail environment as it is making other changes to its high-tech and frictionless retailing operation. Amazon recently said it has made the “difficult decision” to close its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores, converting various locations into Whole Foods Market stores. The decision came after “a careful evaluation of the business and how we can best serve customers.” (Amazon will continue to operate its Fresh online grocery service.)
Amazon debuted Amazon Fresh in 2020, with a format featuring a variety of high-tech omnichannel features designed to merge online grocery shopping with an elevated in-store experience. Newer locations feature the Amazon Dash Cart smart shopping cart as well as Amazon One palm-based payment devices.
Meanwhile, the Amazon Go format debuted at a store in Seattle in January 2018 and features Amazon’s "Just Walk Out" technology. Amazon Go is designed to offer customers a quick shopping experience to pick up grab-and-go food, snacks and beverage items and a few everyday essentials.
