The world of payments continues to shift and evolve. Paying through an implant in one’s hand or wrist seemed futuristic a few years ago, but it continues to build momentum. Walletmote has sold its thousandth payment implant this week.
Using An Implant At The Checkout
As payments have become contactless by default in virtually all countries, there is some room for innovation. Rather than using a payment card or mobile device, one could simply waive their wrist above a payment terminal. More specifically, that is an option for people who have one of Walletmor‘s payment chips implanted under the skin. Obtaining such a ship is possible in the EU or US, and it is half a millimeter thick.
The units entered the market in late 2021 but have proven to be pretty successful so far. A thousand of these devices have been sold by Walletmor, with Scandinavia accounting for 20% of its global sales. That is interesting, indicating Scandinavians are a bit more open-minded regarding payments and how they can be completed. Considering how there is only one company offering these implants to consumers, business may continue to pick up for Walletmor.
Company CEO Wojtek Paprota has indicated the company will try to expand into new regions over the coming months. The Middle East apparently offers an exciting market opportunity, although it isn’t a region one wouldn’t necessarily associate with payment implants. Even so, every option is worth exploring, and Walletmor aims to start counting its sales in the thousands.
Paying with a small chip under the skin could become the norm pretty quickly, though. The implant units are made up of an integrated circuit and metal sheath serving as the antenna. Although not everyone feels comfortable putting electronics under their skin – and it may still pose some health risks to do so – there is a lot of merit to this concept.