BiometricPayment
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Chicago Shell stations trialing biometric payment systems
Simply swiping one's credit / debit card at the pump is probably sufficient for the bulk of us, but for certain Shell customers in Chicago, paying for gasoline is getting even quicker. Ten stations in the Windy City are trialing biometric payment systems -- crafted by California-based Pay By Touch, which has units in a variety of other stores already -- that enable customers to scan their fingerprints, fill up and cruise off. The machines are purportedly linked directly to checking or credit card accounts, which customers initiate at the store or online. Unfortunately, we've no idea if Shell plans on expanding this to other locales after the pilot program has concluded, but Chris Susse, Shell's manager of global refueling innovations (nice title, eh?) did note that he hoped the initiative would increase customer loyalty at the very least.
Citibank Singapore intros biometric payments, impulse shoppers rejoice
Although biometric payment systems are still pretty rare -- good news for friends and relatives of folks who can't seem to stop buying those "As Seen on TV" items in the checkout aisle -- recent trials at stores like Albertsons and Cub Foods and even the school lunch line would seem to indicate that more pervasive rollouts are just around the corner. The latest -- and arguably biggest -- player to enter the biopayment game is none other than Citibank Singapore, which has been quietly distributing fingerprint readers to area businesses for the past month. Right now only Clear Platinum card holders have the option of going biometric, and since this group includes heavy representation from the tech-savvy 25 to 34-year-old demographic, it seems that Citibank is taking the right approach to ensure widespread adoption. For now it sounds like the systems are still few and far between -- with coffee houses and and a popular nightclub being the most visible participants -- but Citibank VP Anand Cavale predicts that deployment will quickly expand as more customers put their prints on file at local branches. Oh, and for those of you worried about finger-snatching becoming the hot 21st Century crime, you'll be pleased to learn that a seven-digit PIN is also necessary to complete transactions of this variety -- so even if someone saws off one of your digits to purchase a mocha latte, the time-consuming torture required to force that secret code out of you will probably prove to be too much of a hassle for today's mugger on-the-go.
