Banking News

Amazon Enters Biometric Payments Race

(01 October 2020 – Global) Amazon has joined the race to utilise biometrics for contactless payments with a palm-scanning payment and authentication solution labelled ‘Amazon One’.

Major global banks including Société Générale, BNP Paribas and NatWest are actively testing Mastercard and Thales biometric payments solutions. Gemalto and Visa are collaborating while Apple is also running prototype applications of the technology as a form of contactless biometrics for the Apple Card. Amazon is also testing the concept as a digital ID tool for use by enterprises including offices, buildings, stadia, gyms and other facilities with security access points.

The Amazon One concept uses contactless palm scanners to authenticate consumers for shopping at two of its self-service Amazon Go stores in Seattle. The operations were already arousing criticism due to their exclusion of customers limited to using cash only such as the elderly and non-banked population. Biometrics would only speed up the growing shift towards a ‘cashless’ society.

Historically using hands and body motions as a payment device has failed. Pay By Touch filed for bankruptcy and shuttered its system in 2008 facing issues such as the expense of biometric systems and the lack of an established network of merchants that were installed. Gaining support from other merchants may be a challenge, given the expense of autonomous checkout and Amazon's status as a competitor in many retail categories.

“What Amazon has going for them this time around is the pandemic as a catalyst for change, not to mention their substantial brand and marketing engine” commented Aite Research Director, Julie Conroy.

"But for Amazon the expense is just part of their R&D spend philosophy that you have to fail before you can succeed, which means trying various systems within their retail ecosystem. So I don't see palm recognition catching on with mainstream merchants, but there's wider opportunity for this authentication method for airports, office buildings, schools and other facilities” said Mercator Director of Merchant Services, Raymond Pucci.

“Some palm readers are very secure, they recognise active blood veins for liveness and collect a wide range of palm-specific data, but these all require that you place your palm on a sensor,” Sloane said, adding there are other limitations around mobile shopping and payment, two other trends that have accelerated during the pandemic” stated Mercator Vice President of Innovation, Tim Sloane.

“Amazon One is great for shopping in-store but won’t help identify the person in a car that bought online and is picking up in the parking lot. That still needs the mobile app” Mr Sloane added.