dept of unexpected revelations | grocery division
Surprising findings in the news: (1) there are grocery stores called Thriftway in Seattle and (2) at least one of these stores allows customers to pay using their fingerprints:
US chain Thriftway introduced the PayByTouch system in its shop in the Seattle area in 2002 and now sees thousands of transactions a month using the [fingerprint] payment method. [silicon.com]
Has anyone been to this store (the fingerprint payment system has apparently been available for years)? Is is secret agent chic to buy groceries biometrically, or just invasion of privacy style creepy?
I went to the Morgan Junction Thriftway in West Seattle and read the little pamphlet on their fingerprint system a few months ago. If I remember correctly, you still had to swipe your debit card! (or whatever credit card you have linked to the fingerprint system.) So you can’t just swipe your finger over the reader and walk off with the groceries. The fingerprint just replaces the signature or PIN. I think that sucks.
that sounds so much less interesting than I would’ve imagined. not surprising coming from a store called thriftway. super boring.
I love the idea and signed up the week they announced it sometime last year or the year before. Unfortunately, the Thriftway isn’t at all convenient for me but whenever I am close, I love going in and paying with my finger.