Amazon might be replacing credit cards with the wave of a hand

A hand.
(Image credit: imtmphoto/iStock)

Each week, we spotlight a cool innovation recommended by some of the industry's top tech writers. This week's pick is a hand scanner.

Amazon is looking to create checkout terminals that would allow shoppers to pay for items with a wave, said AnnaMaria Andriotis at The Wall Street Journal. The retail giant "recently filed a patent application for what it described as a 'noncontact biometric identification system' that includes a 'hand scanner,'" potentially letting shoppers link their credit card to the palm of their hand.

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