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Co-op doubles fingerprint payment supermarkets
More shoppers get in touch

By Jo Best

Published: Monday 24 July 2006

Three more Co-ops are to be kitted out with equipment that will allow shoppers to pay using their index fingerprint after the supermarket chain decided to extend a trial of Pay by Touch technology.

The biometric payment system is already being trialled in three Co-ops around the Oxfordshire area by the Mid Counties Co-operative.

The pilot was initially slated to last 16 weeks but the society has decided to extend the timeframe for the first three stores and roll out the technology to an additional three stores to see what different demographics think of the technology.

A Mid Counties Co-op spokesman told silicon.com the society has extended the trial to get a better insight into customer opinions. "We were very pleased with the trial but we decided we needed more knowledge under our belts," he said.

Registered shoppers have their fingerprint linked with credit card or debit card information and verify payment by pressing their digit against a reader. According to the Co-op, using Pay by Touch is 20 per cent quicker than using chip and PIN.

Want more on biometrics?

Co-ops aren't the only place that biometrics are being used. Read silicon.com's A to Z of biometrics to find out more about iris scans, palm prints and ID cards.

Recent research by the society found that of the 1,000 shoppers questioned, half had already signed up to the scheme or planned to do so soon. Co-op's spokesman said: "It's been received well by elderly people - they like the idea of going out without having to carry a bag with a purse in it."

The Co-op has not given figures for how long the next phase of the trial will last or how many people have signed up to the scheme. The spokesman said: "We've had good feedback and good sign-up. We're happy with the way it's going."

The three stores will be situated in the Forest of Dean, Highworth and Swindon.