Pretty handy
The continuous march of technology never stops – as proven by the fact that you can now turn yourself into a human bank card thanks to microchip implants that can be inserted into your hand. In fact, they’ve been around for a few years now.
Patrick Paumen, a 37-year-old from the Netherlands, has been using his hand as a de facto bank card since 2019 after undergoing a simple injection that he said feels like nothing more than a pinch.
https://twitter.com/Vicarious1984/status/1114088738215399424?s=20&t=r_1dvIVErph5EHTV4UzEOA
Speaking to the BBC, Paumen reveals that he is one of many that have been making people double-take by holding their hands up to card readers instead of a bit of plastic or their phone.
The security guard and self-styled “Biohacker/cyborg with 11 magnet and 21 RFID implants”, had been eagerly awaiting this technology for some time and finally got the contactless microchip inserted into his hand thanks to US company, VivoKey.
Paumen says “The reactions I get from cashiers are priceless!” (pun intended).
Despite many having already received earlier, experimental versions of the tech, British-Polish company, Walletmor, announced back in January 2021 that they would become the first manufacturer to make such implants publicly available.
The implant community is an enthusiastic and varied one, with a 2021 piece by Vice detailing how people have gotten everything from contactless payment implants to medical records and electronic key/fob microchips for their cars and homes.
In Walletmor’s safety video, they insist that like many body modifications, the technology used has been thoroughly tested for security purposes and to ensure it is not only “biocompatible” but even “hypoallergenic”.
A man in Australia made a similar body mod last week, as he decided to get his Woolies rewards card tattooed on his arm — and it still worked.
Humans, eh?
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