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Whole Foods Stores in Austin, Texas, to Get Amazon One Palm-Scan Payment Tech

It's the first region outside the Seattle area where every Whole Foods Market will offer Amazon One.

Laura Hautala Former Senior Writer
Laura wrote about e-commerce and Amazon, and she occasionally covered cool science topics. Previously, she broke down cybersecurity and privacy issues for CNET readers. Laura is based in Tacoma, Washington, and was into sourdough before the pandemic.
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Laura Hautala
Exterior of Whole Foods Market flagship store in Austin, Texas.

Seven Whole Foods Market stores in the Austin, Texas, area will get the palm-scanning technology. The upgrade doesn't include Amazon's "just walk out" tech.

 Getty Images

Whole Foods Market shoppers in Austin, Texas, soon won't need to pull out payment cards at the cash register, Amazon said Tuesday. The company will roll out its Amazon One palm-scanning technology to let customers pay with a wave of their hands at one store in Austin, and it'll add six more stores in the region soon after.

The system, which is optional, lets customers register one or both palms along with a debit or credit card at a store with the scanning tech. Next, people can choose their groceries and then scan a palm to pay at the register. The new tech doesn't include Amazon's "just walk out" technology, which has been rolled out at some Whole Foods Market, Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores.

amazon-one-courtesy-photo

Amazon One uses a biometric scan of the palm to verify a shopper's identity. 

 Amazon

"We built Amazon One to offer a quick, reliable, and secure way for people to identify themselves or authorize a transaction while moving seamlessly through their day," said Thi Luu, who leads product management for Amazon's physical retail technology.

Amazon One is already available in Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go locations in California, Colorado, New York, Texas and Washington, DC. The rollout in Austin will make it the second region where every store has the option of Amazon One, after the Seattle area, Amazon said.