Pay at vending machines with a finger
One of the clearest signs that you are in a Japanese city, besides the fact that there are Japanese milling around, are the vending machines at every corner. From your usual drink dispenser to those that produce hot meals on demand, you can even buy underwear from one of these vending machines. Besides money, some models accept RFID cash cards and credit cards. In Singapore, you can even send an SMS to purchase an item, with the cost added to your monthly phone bill.
The latest evolution to this decades-old tradition is fingerprint technology, showcased by Hitachi at RetailTech 2010. While biometric measure is not new, this may be the first time such a device is used in vending machines. By linking one's fingerprint to a bank account, consumers need only scan a digit to get their daily fix. You can check out a video of this process below.
Via Japantrends
About the author
Tracking laptop and PC trends since 2005, Darius Chang may have been knee deep in bits and bytes but is certainly not a binary person. Under that big and soft exterior holds a marshmallow core which dotes on his god-daughters and nephew. Suspected of ADD, his interests span disparate fields such as sustainability studies, diving, sports, politics, etc. A true jack of all trades, but master of one (maybe two).
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