The Dutchman Patrick Paumen causes a stir every time he pays for something in a shop or restaurant. That’s because he makes contactless payments in a very special way.
Contactless payments are popular
We have been making contactless payments for years via our bank card, via our smartphone, and to a lesser extent via our smartwatch. For this we use a banking app or a service such as Google Pay or Apple Pay† This way is also becoming more and more popular, reports Banken.nl based on figures from the Dutch Payments Association: “Slowly but surely moving towards a cashless society: in 2021 the number of online payments rose by another 14%, while the number of cash payments fell sharply (-43%). During its ten-year existence, ING also reported some interesting figures about contactless payments: “About 9.5 million times a week, mobile payments are made in shops.”
Yet there are also other ways to pay contactless, without a phone, watch, ring or fitness tracker. The Patrick Paumen proves that. The 37-year-old Dutchman tells in an interview with the BBC that he pays for years without a bank card or his mobile phone. Instead, he simply places his left hand at the payment terminal to make the payment. “The reactions I get from cashiers are priceless!” says de Paumen.
Microchip in his hand
Paumen had a microchip for contactless payment placed under his skin in 2019 and, according to him, the ‘operation’ is virtually painless. The microchip weighs less than a gram and is not much larger than a grain of rice. Walletmor is the company that makes this microchip and has sold more than 500 of them to date. The company indicates in the interview that the chip is completely safe and approved by the regulatory authorities. The microchip works immediately after implantation and remains firmly in place. The chip also does not require a battery or other power source.
BBC cites a 2021 study showing that more than 4,000 people in the United Kingdom and the European Union would consider such a microchip. However, reliability and safety were a major concern for the respondents. According to Walletmor, the microchip contains the same kind of technology that people use every day: “From key fob to unlock doors, to public transport cards or bank cards with contactless payment function.”
What do you think of this way to pay contactless? Would you consider it? Leave your comment in the comments below this article.
– Thanks for information from Androidworld. Source