Paying By Thumb: How an NFC Implant Could do the Job
One of the great features of the Hill Valley future from the Back to the Future series was the notion of being able to pay for things with a thumbprint.
From $20 for the clock tower to a tall, cool drink of Pepsi Perfect at the Cafe 80s, a thumbprint represented one of the best ways to make the link between one person’s bank account and another’s.
For one person, though, this dream is getting closer to reality thanks to a near-field communications (NFC) chip implanted in his thumb.
The person in question, who legally changed his name a year ago to Meow-Ludo Meow Meow, had the chip implanted recently in much the same fashion as a dog or cat might have such a chip installed.
Calling it “…basically a little piece of memory that can do some fun stuff,” Meow will ultimately be able to make payments at stores by tapping his thumb on a contactless payment reader. Though right now its reach is limited, Meow hopes one day to have the chip work with PayPass, the contactless payment system offered by MasterCard.
Though Meow will have to go in for a new chip when that day comes—his current chip won’t work with PayPass—it’s still a concept that’s closer than some might expect.
Meow also hopes the chip will one day tie in to fitness management systems and the like, connecting to the payment system by forbidden the purchase of sweet treats without exercise first.
That’s the kind of thing that will be way too invasive for most, but at the same time, an idea that some will likely embrace.
Cash isn’t all that inconvenient, but there are few systems that would be more mobile than the one described here. It’s odd that it depends on a chip, when there are already systems that use a thumbprint unaided like with Apple’s TouchID system.
Given the negative perception commonly connected with implanted microchips, it’s worth wondering why the straight thumbprint approach isn’t more commonly considered.
It’s generally worth considering, what the next generation of anything should look like. With payments, we’ve seen everything from phones to wearables, and implants are part of that roster.
Whether Meow and his ilk will come out ahead or be dismissed as loons with silly names remains to be seen.