March 12, 2004Biometrics & Grocery StoresFinger scans let shoppers get done quickly Posted on Fri, Mar. 12, 2004 Finger scans let shoppers get done quickly By Michele Chandler Mercury News Shoppers at a chain of Southern grocery stores can pay for purchases simply by pressing their thumb to a special screen, thanks to technology developed by San Francisco company Pay By Touch. The Bay Area company says its method, which uses finger scans linked to customer's financial accounts, will speed patrons through cashier lines, reduce merchants' costs and cut fraud. ``Somebody can steal the last four digits of your social security number, your checking account or your PIN, but they can't steal your fingerprint,'' said Craig Ramsey, chief executive of Pay By Touch, launched last year. During the coming months, finger-scanning payment systems are scheduled to be installed at all 116 stores in South Carolina and Georgia owned by grocery chain Piggly Wiggly Carolina. Pay By Touch is one of several firms looking to make money from biometrics, the science of using biological properties such as fingerprints, voice recognition and retina scans to identify individuals. Interest in the field began as a way to identify people for security purposes, but now is being explored for its retail potential. Other companies including Information Architects of Florida and Biometric Access of Texas are also developing fingerprint-secured retail transactions, according to NACHA-The Electronic Payments Association, a coalition of banks and credit unions. REI registry goes online It just got easier for brides-and-grooms-to-be who treasure the great outdoors to let everyone know they'd love his-and-hers crampons, not candlesticks, for a wedding gift. Crampons are the spiked metal frames strapped to boots that make it easier to move about on ice -- a choice only for the most rugged couples. National outdoor gear retailer REI recently launched an online registry that sells them and thousands of outdoor-related items and is easier for customers to use than their prior service. In the 1990s, REI launched its first wedding registry, which consumers had to set up in the store. Even without heavy promotion, REI saw sales from its in-store registry rise 15 percent annually during the past few years, company spokesman Mike Foley said. Anticipating profits if they opened online, the company launched its gift registry late last month on its Web site, REI.com. While couples can select crampons, most go for more commonplace items, Foley said. Popular selections include sleeping bags, tents and cooking gear. But some newlyweds are opting for high-tech gifts, such as global positioning devices, and passing on the gravy boats. Mercury News: Bay Area news, technology, jobs, cars & real estate Posted by Craig at March 12, 2004 06:08 PM |