Have you ever stood in an agonizingly long line and wondered if there would ever be a faster way to pay for transactions than counting all the pennies in your piggy bank, one-by-one? Well, thanks to students at Lund University in Sweden, now there is – simply, pay with your palm.
A team of Lund students, led by engineering student Fredrik Leifland, designed a new palm scanner that distinguishes each person’s identity through the unique pattern of veins in a person’s hand. The scanner takes about five seconds to determine the user’s identity and deducts the payment directly from the coinciding bank account after the user verifies the last four digits of their phone number.
Leifland had the idea for the scanner when he was in an especially long line at a grocery store and watched people fumble with cash, cards and smartphone payment methods. He thought, “there must be a better way,” and so he and a team of student set out to create one.
The technology for the palm readers already existed, as some banks and ATMs in Sweden were already utilizing palm-scanning technology. Leifland and his team built their own palm reader, and then set out to get all the local banks, retail stores and customers to buy into their vision. While according to Leifland, it was no easy feat, today 15 different stores near Lund University use the palm technology and approximately 1,600 customers rely on the convenient system.
Setting oneself up as a customer isn’t the easiest thing. A prospective user has to go to a palm-powered store, submit their social security number, phone number, banking information and submit three palm scans. Once this is complete, they must complete registration online and fill out another form before being able to use the technology. Once approved, however, they need only enter in the last four digits of their phone number and scan their hand for five seconds to complete a transaction.
While Leifland had convenience in-mind when designing the device, it also has many security benefits. If people don’t need to carry around wallets, cash and cards, they decrease their risk of falling victim to petty theft. With this, a thief can use stolen credit card or cash, but they cannot use a stolen palm, unless something has gone seriously, seriously wrong.
Leifland is building a startup called Quixter to support the new palm technology. While presently there are no plans for the technology to be seen outside of Sweden, it is likely only a matter of time before it comes to a neighborhood café near you.
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