In the Netherlands, a biohacker has encapsulated a chip in bioplastic and embedded it in the skin of his hand so that he can pay for things without fumbling for his phone or wallet.
According to BBC News, thirty-seven year old Patrick Paumen has successfully made contactless payments using the device. The internal chip uses near-field communication, the same technology used by bank cards, smartphones and smartwatches to make transactions. The chip lights up when it is being read by the point of sale.
Paumen said he is not concerned about the device being used to track him, because like radio-frequency identification used for microchipping pets, identification requires a hand scan. Pauman has a total of 32 bioplastic-encased implants, including one to unlock NFC-compatible doors.
Pauman is among a growing cohort of biohackers. Software engineer Amie DD, whose LinkedIn lists her title as LEGO Cyborg Unicorn Hacker at Microsoft, had her Tesla keycard implanted in her arm in 2019. It was also packaged in bioplastic, but was only effective if she was very close to the car’s console.