Contactless payments have been widely used and accepted by businesses and consumers. The demand for cashless transactions even skyrocketed during the height of the COVID19 pandemic due to health protocols.
More businesses opted to seek the services of high-risk merchant account processors for help with their payment platforms. Consumers slowly abandoned traditional payment methods because of speed, security, and overall customer experience.
But forget about your debit card, credit card, or phone when you want to pay. Let us step it up a notch. You can now become a walking wallet. You do not have to panic if you left your phone or bank cards at home because these will be irrelevant in the future. Soon, you’ll be able to make purchases and pay using your hand.
For £230, or about $286, a microchip securely containing your account data will be implanted into your hand. It may sound weird, but this is becoming popular. With this new concept, you can minimize or totally eliminate the risk of losing your bank cards or forgetting your phone in the car.
NFC Payment Implant
Walletmor–a combination of the words wallet and tomorrow–is a UK technology startup company that has developed and sold NFC (Near Field Communication) solutions to consumers since 2019.
In the United States, Walletmor is partnering with Purewrist, a contactless payment company that caters to American customers.
The chip weighs less than a gram and is the size of a single grain of rice; it’s comprised of a tiny chip and antenna encased in a biopolymer, a material similar to plastic.
The procedure takes about 4 minutes to complete and the pain level is equivalent to when someone pinches the skin. Once the microchip is embedded, it is instantly ready to be used.
However, this innovation has its limitations. For now, the chip can be linked to a specific bank card that comes with an expiration date. Therefore, if the linked card has expired, the chip also expires, meaning it has to be surgically removed and replaced.
Is It Safe?
The microchip is designed and tested to meet the contactless payment performance requirements of Mastercard, Visa, and EuroPay and is ISO 14443 standard compliant.
Walletmor also conducted substantial testing, the same laboratory testing applicable for a medical device, to check on the microchip’s safety and its polymer casing. Based on the safety test results, the tag is super safe, ensuring biocompatibility without the risks of irritations and toxicity.
Reportedly, Walletmor has serviced over 500 customers who are now benefiting from the convenience of this payment implant. If you like the idea of making transactions using your hand, the microchip is available on Walletmor’s website.
Contactless payment methods have become the most preferred way to pay for goods and services in today’s fast-paced world. From having to forego carrying cash in exchange for mobile phones or bank cards, this will soon be replaced with a microchip integrated within our hands to make payments.