Biometric Payments Tested

Kroger Co., the largest U.S.-based supermarket chain, is testing payment by fingerprint in three stores in Texas. The biometric payment system requires customers to register for the program by providing an ID, a form of payment (credit or debit) and an image of their index finger. Kroger is avoiding use of both the term "fingerprinting" and the thumbprint, which implies fingerprinting due to the suggestion of law enforcement. About 10,000 customers have signed up for the pilot test in the Texas towns of Bryan and College Station, the latter home to Texas A&M University and whose students reportedly have embraced the finger imaging.