Seattle sports teams use fingerprint biometrics to let fans prove their age and buy a beer

Clear partners with Seattle Seahawks, Sounders FC, & Mariners to launch biometrics payment & ID check initiative — Clear — “With approval from the State of Washington to replace a traditional ID check with biometric powered age validation, Clear members at CenturyLink Field and Safeco Field can buy food and drinks, and simultaneously prove that they are of legal age for alcohol purchases — all with just their fingerprints.”


What's New in Payments

Tesco pilots ‘Scan Pay Go’ cashless supermarket concept

Tesco trials cashless ‘shop and go’ store at HQ — Essential Retail — “Tesco staff are trialling a completely cashless store at the grocer’s headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, including ‘shop and go’ technology similar to that used in the Amazon Go store in Seattle… The technology allows customers to scan and pay for their products via their smartphone before walking out of the store without visiting a traditional till point.”


What's New in Payments

Starbucks to run cashless store pilot in South Korea

Starbucks to test cashless stores in S Korea — Yonhap News — “Starbucks Coffee Korea Co, the local unit of the US coffee giant, said Thursday it will begin a test run of cashless stores at three outlets next month amid rising use of credit card and mobile payment systems… It will mark the second trial for the global coffee giant, following its first cashless store under test run in Seattle.”



What's New in Payments

Amazon opens its cashierless store to the public

Amazon Go cashierless convenience store opening to the public — The Seattle Times — “The store requires customers to scan their smartphone on the way in, tracks them with cameras and other sensors as they browse, and, when they take an item off the shelf, adds it to a virtual cart. Groceries are charged to the customer’s Amazon account when they leave with their goods.”



What's New in Payments

Amazon moves closer to rollout of automated stores

Amazon’s cashierless store is almost ready for prime time — Bloomberg — “For the past year, Amazon employees have been test driving Amazon Go, an experimental convenience store in downtown Seattle. The idea is to let consumers walk in, pick up items and then pay for them without ever standing in line at a cashier… In a sign that the concept is almost ready for prime time, hiring for the Amazon Go team has shifted from the engineers and research scientists needed to perfect the platform to the construction managers and marketers who would build and promote the stores to consumers.”


Target tests Bluetooth beacons in 50 US stores

US retail giant Target has begun testing Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons in 50 stores nationwide to send deals and recommendations on nearby products directly to a shopper’s smartphone running the retailer’s iOS mobile app... More


Hampton Inn hotels install beacons in Seattle

Guests at hotel chain Hampton Inn are to be greeted with personalised messages, digital concierge services, directions and tailored offers on their smartphones via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons deployed across  Seattle... More