Customers will reach out their hand to Amazon. Will the new payment method revolutionise commerce?

The leader of online commerce – Amazon, is testing a completely new way of identifying its customers, reports New York Post. To tell Smith from Johnson, the hyper-modern scanner uses computer imaging and depth geometry. Sounds complicated, but in reality, all you need to do is… wave at it. Does this way of paying for purchases have a chance of catching on? Much suggests it does – according to Paysafe research, nearly half of consumers worldwide already use biometrics when making payments.

According to New York Post, the American giant has begun testing a scanner that can identify customers based on their hands. – Such a feature is another ace up the sleeve of the giant, which keeps testing new technologies to simplify the purchasing process even further.

In this case, the advantage is even faster payments, which can be confirmed with an instant hand scan – comments Sascha Stockem of Nethansa, a Sopot-based startup that brings Polish and German companies onto the international Amazon trading platform, where it comprehensively manages their sales using its proprietary AI-powered Cliperon system.

– Thanks to this, the entire shopping experience will become even faster and more pleasant. Amazon knows perfectly well that customers care not only about price, but also about emotions. It is for those emotions that customers are willing to pay a fortune, even though they often have cheaper product alternatives – adds the CEO of Nethansa.

Niche technology, but not a niche idea

For now, this is a pilot programme; if it succeeds, it may be rolled out in Whole Foods grocery stores, which are owned by Amazon. The e-commerce giant does not want to comment on the information presented by NYP. The only thing the editorial team managed to learn is that the technology codenamed “Orville” is being tested in the company's office vending machines in New York.

– Identifying a user via biometrics is not a new solution. Acuity Market Intelligence estimates that by the end of 2020, all smartphones will come standard with biometric sensors. What is new, however, is the method of identification; until now, the most popular have been fingerprint readers or the face scanner fitted in the iPhone X and newer models. Authorisation via the hand is therefore a kind of novelty and will certainly spark consumers' curiosity, especially among younger generations who love technological innovations – comments Sascha Stockem of Nethansa.

According to the NYP editorial team, users visiting the store simply need to hold their hand over the scanner, which uses elements of artificial intelligence: it combines machine learning and computer imaging, plus spatial geometry. This is how the unique shape and size of each hand is identified. To try the new method of identification in the store, Amazon Prime customers will first need to visit one so that their hands are registered in the database and then matched to their accounts.

PIN code? Sorry, I don't remember it

– The new identification method is an interesting addition to Amazon's offering, which will enrich its proprietary payment system – Amazon Pay. Everything suggests it will be another convenience for consumers, who can already complete their purchases really quickly. Sellers benefit too, because thanks to this, customers become more carefree and think less about what they put in their basket. We can easily lose a piece of paper with a PIN or it can slip our mind. We are rather unlikely to be parted from our own hand – explains the expert from Nethansa.

A PIN for a card, for a phone, for a stairwell door, for online banking – the places where we use a numeric password keep multiplying. No wonder people are happy to give up this method of identification. As reported by The Telegraph, an adult has to remember an average of 10 PIN codes. An employee of one of the leading banks in Poland admits: “When we lose a card or forget the PIN code, we face a considerable problem. First we have to block it, then report to a bank branch with an application to generate a new card, and there is still the waiting time. From 2 to 3 weeks. Unfortunately, our bank no longer produces cards on site.”

The fact that customers bid farewell to plastic cards without regret and increasingly use alternative payment methods seems entirely understandable. According to Paysafe research, nearly half of consumers worldwide use biometric data to make payments – usually based on facial recognition technology. What has earned them such popularity?

44% of internet users surveyed in the United States, the United Kingdom, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada and Germany indicated speed as one of the main advantages of new payment technologies, while roughly a quarter admitted to having trouble remembering passwords. The larger part (44%) of respondents said that ​​biometrics are far more convenient for them.

Will waving a hand soon become the gesture symbolising payment? Everything will be decided by Amazon's experiments and by how willingly customers reach out their hands towards the scanners and new technologies.