To enroll in the program customers are asked to have their fingers scanned, and to enter a search code. They then swipe rewards cards and/or payment cards, and give their checking account information. In a matter of minutes, this information is built into a personal virtual “Pay By Touch Wallet”. Pay By Touch, a San Francisco company, will processes the information which will be stored at secure IBM data centers.

The Pay By Touch system is already in use on the West Coast as well as several other areas. Piggly Wiggly expects to have Pay By Touch available in every check out line in all of their South Carolina and Georgia stores within the next two years. Once a customer is enrolled, they will be able to purchase groceries at any of the participating Piggly Wiggly stores by simply touching their finger on a keypad at the checkout counter.

Pay By Touch plans to roll out this innovative consumer payment system in other national retail chains later this year. Then, a person’s Pay By Touch wallet account could be used at several different stores across the country (including department stores, discount stores, and even restaurants). It sounds like we are coming closer to the time when we can leave those heavy wallets behind.

For more information on this technology, visit the  Pay By Touch and Piggly Wiggly Web sites.