April 12, 2012 at 12:20 PM ET
Wallets in Japan are about to get a little bit lighter, thanks to the introduction of the world’s first automated teller machine that doesn’t require a bank card to get cash or check your balance. It simply reads your palm.
The ATM being unveiled this September by Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank isn’t the first to use so-called biometric sensors (the palm reading device), but it is the first to allow customers to ditch their cards entirely, instead of using it as an added layer of security. A palm read combined with your birthdate and a PIN will suffice.
The technology is being unveiled, in part, as a response to the earthquake and tsunami that crippled the country’s northeast coast last year. Many people fled their homes empty handed and lost everything, including their ATM cards. This new system would allow access to cash in such scenarios.
The bank announced the new ATM on Wednesday with the slogan, “You are your cash,” reports IDG News Service.
The biometric technology was created by Fujitsu and is reportedly able to quickly differentiate between hundreds of thousands of people. And if someone kidnaps you, drags you to an ATM and forces you to hold your hand over the sensor to get out some catch, don’t worry, this security camera will find them.
--Via The Verge, IDG News Service
John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website and follow him on Twitter. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.
