A recent tech development could put ID verification in the palm of your hand.
Amazon One, a service that allows consumers to pay for purchases by hovering their palm over a payment device, is set to roll out age verification for alcohol sales this summer, according to a May 22 press release. The contactless payment technology, first launched in 2020 as a form of mobile wallet, will link to the user’s state-issued ID and allow users to pay and verify their age in one scan.
The age verification program is set to launch in the United States at Denver’s Coors Field starting May 22. The launch will also make the home of the Colorado Rockies the first sports venue to feature Amazon One payments for beer. Users can enroll for age verification on-site or online with their palm print, a selfie, and a photo of their ID.
“Our team continually innovates to improve the customer experience, and age verification is the latest way we’re solving a customer pain point,” Dilip Kumar, vice president of Amazon Web Service Applications, says in the release. “Fans no longer need to fumble for their wallet and ID. Instead, they can quickly confirm their age and make their purchase with just a hover of their palm. At Coors Field, this will help fans get back to the game faster, and we look forward to rolling this feature out to additional establishments in the coming months.”
Amazon says in a May 22 press release that age-verification technology will roll out to additional, unnamed establishments in the coming months.
Amazon first introduced its Amazon One payment technology at Amazon Go retail outlets in 2020, according to TechCrunch. The device uses visual technology to link a payment account to a users’ “palm signature,” which is then recognized by retail scanners when users hover their hand over it. Since the initial release, Amazon has since expanded the technology to Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh locations across the United States.
