A Florida company has announced plans to develop a service that would allow consumers to pay for merchandise using microchips implanted under their skin.

Applied Digital Solutions CEO Scott Silverman said he believes the company's VeriChip -- a subdermal microchip that uses radio frequency signals to broadcast an identification number to a scanner -- could someday replace credit cards. Under Silverman's plan, rather than swiping a bank card to make purchases, micro-chipped customers would scan themselves using special readers.

Although the biochip payment plan may strike some people as a bit X Files-ish, financial transactions using radio frequency identification, or RFID, are already commonplace in some areas.

ExxonMobil's Speedpass, for example, is a key-chain fob containing an RFID tag that is linked to the holder's credit card; users wave the fob in front of a scanner integrated into a gas pump, and their fuel purchase is charged to their credit card account within seconds. Recently more than 400 McDonald's restaurants in the greater Chicago area started using the Speedpass system to allow customers to more conveniently buy their burgers and fries.

Meanwhile, MasterCard is testing an RFID-enabled credit card called PayPass. Like the Speedpass, the revamped card uses RFID to access the user's financial information and obviates the need for signatures or interactions with store clerks. In an interview with USA Today last week, a senior MasterCard executive said the company is considering integrating its RFID technology into other items, such as pens or earrings.

"Ultimately, it could be embedded in anything -- someday, maybe even under the skin," the executive said.


View: Full Article | Source: Wired News