TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Would you get a chip implanted in your hand or arm to pay for things, instead of using a credit card or cash? For some, the answer is yes. A British-Polish tech startup, Walletmor, is giving customers the chance to leave their wallets at home through a microchip RFID payment device inserted under the skin.
“The implant can be installed in any part of the body under the skin, such as the hand,” Walletmor says in a promotional brochure. “It’s a replacement for a bulky wallet and is a convenient alternative to a credit card, or a device with a payment function, including a smartphone.”
The implant is not yet available in the United States, and only about 200 people have gotten the implant so far, Walletmor said.
While getting the implant in the U.S. isn’t possible yet, customers who have the implant can use it anywhere that accepts contactless payment. Right now, the implant is only available in Europe.
Kiosks, readers and cash registers that allow cards to be tapped or digital wallets from a phone will all work with the biotech implant.
So how’s it work and what’s it cost?
Walletmor’s website lists the cost of the implant at $299. The chip itself is about the size of a grain of rice, and uses a localized magnetic field to activate with payment scanners. The chip is coated in a “biopolymer,” what the company called a “medical plastic for the production of medical products” which they say has been tested for safety in a three-year period.
Installation of the device “is such a simple procedure that it can theoretically be done by yourself at home” with a kit that comes with the implant upon delivery. However, Walletmor recommends having the implant done at a hospital or medical facility “due to sanitary standards.” Medical clinics or body modification studios are also options for having the implantation performed, according to Walletmor, due to the potential need for local anesthesia.
“The implant is effective immediately after implantation,” and the “wound” from the process takes about four weeks to heal, Walletmor said. The process itself is only expected to take 15 minutes, with a “minimal skin incision.” Implant sites are recommended in the hand or just above the wrist.
Once installed, the chip can link with a third-party payment app. Walltemor’s press materials mention both iCard and Purewrist, though they say repeatedly that they are not officially involved with either company, and are not liable for issues with accounts for either one.
For payment, once you have an account with iCard or Purewrist, you load funds in through a bank transfer or card payment, similar to CashApp or Venmo.
“Once you link your Walletmor payment implant to your Purewrist wallet, it can be used to make payment using the funds in your account,” Walletmor said. “You can use a standard bank transfer or external debit or credit card to top up your Purewrist account.”
Part of the tech company’s pitch for people to get the implant is how it adds security. In addition to “not violat[ing] basic privacy principles,” the chip “does not track your location because it does not have GPS” or systems that could track user locations.
“Our payment implants use the same short-range near-field communication or NFC technology used by contactless payment cards,” according to Walletmor. “This means our implant has no battery and no power source of its own, nor does it transmit radio waves that could be intercepted.”
Additionally, it removes the risk of a stolen wallet or misplaced credit card or cash by being literally under the skin. The implant reportedly remains functional for five years, but Walletmor said they’ll soon offer an eight-year-long version.
