After running an apparently successful pilot of the program in several hotspots such as Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, and Austin, Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market is now expanding its cashless biometric payment system to dozens of additional stores in the California market.
According to reports, customers at Whole Foods who agree to jump through a bunch of hoops, including sending imagery of their palms to the Amazon Mothership, will have the ability to walk right out of the store with their groceries without ever having to pull out their wallet.
Amazon has been talking about the technology for several years now, testing it out in a few key stores where the clientele are apparently much more receptive than average to its mark-of-the-beast implications. Now, it is reportedly ready for prime time, at least in the Golden State.
"Customers can set up Amazon One by registering their palm print using a kiosk or at a point-of-sale station at participating stores," reported The Verge. "To register, you need to provide a payment card and phone number, agree to Amazon's terms of service, and share an image of your palms."
"Once completed, you can take items to checkout and not have to take out your wallet – or even your phone. A hover of your hand over the device is all that's needed to pay and leave."
Amazon is paving the way for a cashless society and one world order
Not everyone is thrilled with Amazon's technological encroachments, which are almost always branded in terms of "convenience." Many worry that Amazon is prying into every aspect of its customers' lives, including their unique handprints.
Last year, a group of senators, including Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), sent a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy requesting further information about how the company is able to scan palm prints and use them for payment purposes.
These senators also want to know what Amazon is planning to do with all this additional data collection, including the prospect that the corporate behemoth will use it to expand the scope of how it blasts customers with targeted advertising.
"Amazon's expansion of biometric data collection through Amazon One raises serious questions about Amazon's plans for this data and its respect for user privacy, including about how Amazon may use the data for advertising and tracking purposes," the letter reads.
At the very least, it is obvious that Amazon is using its new Amazon One system to phase out cash and convert the world to cashless living "where a customer's body is becoming a transactional tool," according to Zero Hedge.
As Amazon absorbs increasingly more companies and expands its control over every element of society and commerce, we can expect a whole lot more invasion of privacy – including at the grocery store.
"One day in the future the police will stop your car on the highway and say, you just committed a traffic violation," wrote a commenter in response to this news.
"You will say 'no I did not' they will then forcefully hold your hand to an app that confirms you admitted to violating a traffic law and off to jail you will go. The private (for profit) prison will be happy to take you in."
Another wrote that she saw the cashless payment system at a Whole Foods store and asked the checkout clerk about it.
"I said I wasn't into that stuff and she agreed," this person added. "I said we are getting close to Revelation 13 and she agreed."
More of the latest news about Amazon and the ever-expanding reach of its corporate tentacles can be found at JeffBezosWatch.com.
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