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The first implantable chips were put on the market last year by the British-Polish company, Walletmore, in order to process payments faster, with the company itself stating that: "They can be used in any store that allows buyers to pay intact ".
According to a BBC report, the Wallmart chip weighs less than a gram and is slightly larger than a grain of rice. It consists of a tiny microchip and an antenna enclosed in a biopolymer (material of natural origin, similar to plastic).
The company's founder and CEO, Wojtek Paprota, confirms that this product is completely safe, has regulatory approval, operates as soon as it is implanted and remains firmly in place. Also, it does not require the use of a battery or other power source to operate, but is based on Near Field Communication Technology (NFC), the same technology that is used in the contactless payment system on smartphones.
Is our personal data secure?
Although a survey of more than 4,000 people in the UK and Europe in 2021 found that 51% of them would seriously consider using such chips, privacy concerns remain.
The user of this chip states that he is not worried about the protection of his personal data, as "this chip uses the technology on the basis of which most of the things we use in our daily life, whether they are the cards for the means of transport, the cards our bank or even the contactless keys to enter our house ".
He further added: "Such chips are used to find pets when they are lost. Chips, however, do not allow us to remotely locate our pets. Instead, we need to go find them ourselves up close. "Chips only help us identify animals."
However, it is a matter of concern whether the protection of our personal data will be ensured, if these chips evolve more and need to store more data, in order to make them easier and better to use.
Technology experts argue that the use of implantable payment chips is merely an extension of the Internet of Things and, consequently, another way of exchanging and connecting data. However, they draw the attention of users to their proper use, emphasizing that, before deciding to implant these chips, they should also think seriously about the risks that may be involved.
Nada Kakabadse, a professor of politics, governance and ethics at Reading University's Henley Business School, is also skeptical about the future of chips, asking questions such as "Who owns the data?" Who has access to the data? "Is it ethical to put chips in people like we put in pets?" and raising issues related to manipulation and control.
On the other hand, Steven Northham, a senior lecturer in innovation and entrepreneurship at the University of Winchester and founder of the British company BioTeq, which has been making implantable contactless chips since 2017, describes these concerns as unfounded.
His company produces chips to help people with disabilities, chips e.g. to open the doors automatically, thus making their daily life easier, while as he adds: “These chips are very small and inactive. They do not involve risks ".
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