Editor's Note: Checking Out With A Finger Touch

It’s probably happened to all of us at least once. You’re at the grocery store about to check out and realize that your purse or wallet is in the car, on the counter at home or a whole number of other places.

But thanks to a biometric solution from Pay By Touch, customers of independent grocer Dorothy Lane Market only need to bring their finger to shop.

When a shopper enters the store, they can scan their finger or swipe the store’s club card at a kiosk. The kiosk then prints out 10 offers for products the shopper frequently purchases based on previous history.

During checkout, shoppers do not need to present the offer sheet or even any type of payment.  All it takes is another finger scan to redeem the product offer and authorize a direct debit from the customer’s checking account.

“With the Pay By Touch enhancement to Club DLM, our shoppers will get extra savings on the products they love, right when they enter the store," said Amy Brinkmoeller, director of information services for Dorothy Lane Market. "Plus, checkout will be simpler, faster and more secure with Pay By Touch -- because payment and redemption are automatic."

So at the grocer’s three locations in Ohio, things like credit cards, checks, wallets and purses are quickly becoming obsolete. And with biometric technology becoming more rapidly available, cheaper and easier to use, a system like this might be cropping up the next time you head over to your local grocery store.

About the Author

Brent Dirks is senior editor for Security Today and Campus Security Today magazines.

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