efficax 3 days ago

After they showed up a year or two ago, I never saw a single person use them in the checkout line. Bad vibes, giving my biometrics to Amazon, and I think that's how most people felt

Eric_WVGG 4 days ago

sincere, non-trolling question: Why?

You clearly saw some value in the convenience. Smartphone and smartwatch NFC offers that convenience everywhere. Even setting up palm authentication feels like unnecessary work.

  • atkailash 4 days ago

    I used it at Whole Foods cause it did my prime code and charged me at the same time without digging my phone out of my pocket but also my Whole Foods has bad reception so it’s annoying to use

    • Eric_WVGG 4 days ago

      You don't need reception of any kind to do an NFC payment, as long as the terminal has network access (even through ethernet).

      the Prime code thing is a good point tho

      • smoghat 3 days ago

        I used Amazon One at my workplace all the time, but I only used it at the self-checkout line since I'd rarely get more than a few items, and the lines are shorter at this crowded neighborhood WF. There, I would scan all my items and use my palm to both log in to Prime and pay. Given that I would be scanning my own items, I much preferred it to phone or watch, as I didn't have to fish them out after scanning.

        I am surprised nobody has mentioned the real joy of checkout at Whole Foods, which is that there is no annoying, incessant voice asking every self-checkout shopper, "Have you scanned your rewards card yet?" and "Please complete the transaction on the pin pad." It must be sheer torture working all day with those going off constantly.

      • dangus 4 days ago

        Automatic loyalty cards are already supported in Apple Pay and I assume Google Pay as well.

        • llsf 4 days ago

          In theory, but not in practice. The devil is in the details. Yes, Apple wallet and Google wallet allows to store loyalty cards. And those cards can be summoned using respectively VAS and SmartTap.

          But... while all payment terminals are compatible to VAS and SmartTap, very few have the firmware and a POS that can make sense of it. So, in practice, beside Walgreens and maybe CSV, it is not much adopted.

      • stevewodil 4 days ago

        Prime discounts were automatically applied if you use the credit card on your Amazon account I thought

  • vostrocity 4 days ago

    I like to go running with nothing on me besides a house key, and it's useful to be able to stop by Whole Foods after the run and buy a snack without a phone, watch, or wallet.

    • matthewdgreen 4 days ago

      I've consciously reduced my pocket contents from car keys+wallet+phone to driver's license+phone. I'd love to be able to get rid of the phone sometimes.

      • reaperducer 4 days ago

        Most of my lunch hours, I take nothing more than a five dollar bill.

        A slice of cheese pizza is $2, and a bottle of water is $1. Then I sit in the park and watch life happen in front of me.

        Very therapeutic.

    • octoberfranklin 4 days ago

      Wear an NFC ring on your finger.

      Unlike your palmprint, you can get a new ring with a new private key if yours is compromised.

      • llsf 4 days ago

        It all boils down to the tradeoff between convenience and security. I don't think it is particularly easy to replicate a living hand with all the blood vessels. And it is not particularly easy to get a NFC ring with a secure element compatible with payment terminals.

        I thought that the engineering team at Amazon did a great job with Amazon One. I wish someone could pick up the tech and carry on.

    • bombcar 4 days ago

      A powered door lock and keypad and you won't even need the house key!

      • fragmede 4 days ago

        A richer zip code and safer streets and you won't need either!

  • Izikiel43 4 days ago

    Convenience?

    Set up once with the CC with rewards for groceries, hover hand 2 seconds, done.

    Apple Pay in the phone or watch are super convenient as well, but they take just a tad bit more of time between selecting the menus in the touch screen for pay options, and then selecting the matching CC.

    I save like 30s? Possibly. Is this tech overkill? Most likely.

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