Swedish commuters are using microchips to pay | Daily Mail Online

Swedish firm Epicenter hit the headlines in April for offering RFID implants to its employees.

The Startup offers workers microchips the size of grains of rice that function as swipe cards, to open doors, operate printers, or buy smoothies with a wave of the hand.   

The injections have become so popular that workers at Epicenter hold parties for those willing to get implanted.  

But, experts say the ethical dilemmas will become bigger the more sophisticated the microchips become. 

Self-described 'body hacker' Jowan Osterlund from Biohax Sweden, holds a small microchip implant, similar to those implanted into workers at the Epicenter digital innovation business centre during a party at the co-working space in central Stockholm

The technology in itself is not new. Such chips are used as virtual collar plates for pets.

Companies use them to track deliveries, but it's never been used to tag employees on a broad scale before.

Epicenter and a handful of other companies are the first to make chip implants broadly available.

And as with most new technologies, it raises security and privacy issues.

While biologically safe, the data generated by the chips can show how often an employee comes to work or what they buy.

Unlike company swipe cards or smartphones, which can generate the same data, a person cannot easily separate themselves from the chip.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4604366/Swedish-commuters-using-microchips-pay.html