“It’s the next thing that’s inevitably going to happen, and we want to be a part of it,” Three Square Market Chief Executive Officer Todd Westby said, according to local ABC affiliate KSTP.com.
Three Square Market (32M) is a tech company that provides technology for break-rooms or micro markets. The company’s chip program is strictly optional for employees, but 50 staff members have already signed up to attend a “chip party” on August 1.
Implanting the chip is a simple procedure. The tiny chip uses RFID technology or Radio-Frequency Identification and is implanted between the thumb and forefinger, a process that is accomplished “within seconds,” according to a company statement.
RFID technology uses electromagnetic fields to identify electronically stored information. The chip implant uses near-field communications (NFC), the same technology used in contactless credit cards and mobile payments. There is no GPS tracking involved in the chips.
The River Falls, Wisconsin-based 32M is partnering with BioHax International, which already has many “chipped” employees, and Jowan Osterland, CEO, based out of Sweden. The microchips cost the company $300 each and they are picking up the tab, reports USA Today.
“We foresee the use of RFID technology to drive everything from making purchases in our office break room market, opening doors, use of copy machines, logging into our office computers, unlocking phones, sharing business cards, storing medical/health information, and used as payment at other RFID terminals,” Westby said in the statement.
