I was perusing the BBC news website recently and saw an interesting article about chip implants that let you pay with just a wave of your hand. This idea rather alarmed me ...
We normally pay using cards, phones and smart watches, but now you can get a chip implant too!
Who would want such a thing when your credit and debit cards have contactless technology built in and there's so much wearable tech out there that runs Apple Pay and its Ilk?
"Well, it turns out that it's a little more common than I thought!"
Firstly, what is a chip implant? It's exactly what it says it is. A small chip that is implanted in your hand (usually in the soft flesh between your thumb and your index finger) that is capable of using a low power signal to pay for things. Instead of getting out your phone or moving your wrist near a card reader (to pay with your smartwatch), you just wave your hand over it and hey presto ... payment made.
We've been doing it to pets for years. If a lost animal gets found, the vet will scan for a chip implant, it'll offer up its serial number, and the vet types that number into a central database to look up the owner's details. With human ones, it's credit or debit card details rather than a simple serial number, but the principle is exactly the same.
These chips have regulatory approval in many countries around the world and don't require recharging as they have no battery (neither does your credit or debit card and that works when you want it to). They are covered in non-toxic polymers and implantation feels like someone pinched you and that's it.
I was talking to technologist Steffi Lewis recently, and she mentioned that her niece in Australia recently had it done. "I wouldn't get one" she said, "but my niece Chloe is only 18 so it'll just be natural to someone of her generation".
Chip implants have also appeared in films, although their capabilities have been someone overexaggerated. In the TV series Salvation, the main protagonist sends a member of his team into a secure building. Just by casually leaning on the desk next to a computer terminal, they were able to remotely hack into the network using a chip implant as a gateway.
"I was assured by Steffi that this isn't possible!"
Chip implants are the size of a grain of rice and have no power source of their own and certainly have no communications ability other than giving up a credit or debit card number when scanned. Don't worry about hackers strolling into your premises and downloading your customer database simply by waving near a computer. Technology isn't that good yet.
A chip implant to replace my credit or debit card is not something I'd have done and neither would many other people I know, but for teenagers looking to embrace technology? I can see it'll become mainstream soon.
As Steffi's niece Chloe posted on Facebook recently alongside a picture of her hand with the chip lit up as it made a payment, "behold your cyborg queen!"
It's only a matter of time.
Until next time ...
ROGER EDDOWES Business Godparent
Would you like to know more?
If anything I've written in this blog post resonates with you and you'd like to discuss your horror at chip implants for humans, it may be a great idea to give me a call on 01908 774320 and let's see how I can help.
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Roger trained at Edward Thomas Peirson & Sons in Market Harborough before working at Hartwell & Co, followed by Chancery, as a partner. He started Essendon Accounts and Tax with Helen Beaumont in 2014 as a general practitioner with a hands-on approach.
Roger loves getting his hands dirty, working with emerging, small-to-medium and family businesses to ensure they receive the best possible accountancy advice. Roger utilises an extensive network of business contacts to leverage the best guidance and practical solutions.
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