“This procedure hurts as much as someone hurts your skin,” Baumin says.

The first time a microchip was implanted in a human was in 1998, but it has only been available for commercial use for the past decade.

When it comes to implantable payment chips, British-Polish company Walletmor says it became the first company to put them up for sale last year.

“The implants can be used to pay for a drink on the beach in Rio, a coffee in New York, a haircut in Paris, or at a local supermarket,” says founder and CEO Wojtek Paprota. It can be used anywhere contactless payments are accepted.

Walletmor chip that It weighs less than a gram and is slightly larger than a grain of rice. It consists of a small chip and antenna covered with a biopolymer, a material of natural origin that resembles plastic.

Paprota adds that it is Totally safe Necessary permitsIt works immediately after transplantation It will remain in place without moving. It also does not require a battery or other power source. The company says it has sold more than 500 chips.

The technology used by Walletmor is NFC (Near Field Communication, Near Field Communication), and Remote payment system on smartphones. Other payment implants rely on radio frequency identification (RFID), the technology typically found in contactless physical debit and credit cards.

For many of us, the The idea of ​​implanting such a chip in our bodies It can be scaryBut a 2021 survey of more than 4,000 people in the UK and EU found that 51% of those interviewed would consider it an option.

But the report added that without giving relative numbers “issues like invasive and The Safety are the main interests“ for respondents.

Patrick Baumann says he has none of these concerns.

“Chip implants contain the same kind of technology that people use every day, from master keys to unlocking doors, public transport cards like Oyster (used on the London Underground) or bank cards with payment functions. No. Call,” he says.

The reading distance is limited by the small antenna inside the implant It must be within the electromagnetic field of the reader RFID [o NFC] compatible. Only when there is magnetic coupling between the reader and the transceiver can the implant be read.”

He adds that he is not worried that his whereabouts can be traced.

RFID chips Use on pets to identify them when they are lost“He says.” But it is not possible to locate them using the RFID chip implant: the missing pet must be physically found. Then the whole body is scanned until the chip is found and read.”

However, the problem with these chips (and what causes concern) is if they become so Fill more and more advancedn from personal information. Conversely, if this information is secure and if it can be traced in reality.

Fintech or fintech expert Theodora Lau is the co-author of Beyond Good: How Technology is Driving a Business-Driven Revolution.

Lau says implanted payment chips are fair “an extension ofhe is meThe Internet of things”. It means another new way to communicate and exchange data.

However, while many people say they are open to this idea, as it will make paying for things faster and easier, The benefits and risks must be weighed. Especially since the embedded chips hold more and more personal information.

“How much are we willing to pay for comfort? Where do we draw the line when it comes to privacy and security? Theodora Lau asks, Who will protect critical infrastructure and the people who are a part of it?

Nada Kakabadsi, professor of policy, governance and ethics at the University of Reading’s Henley School of Business, is also cautious about the future of more advanced embedded chips.

There is a dark side to technology It can lead to abuse. For those who do not like individual freedom, it opens new and tempting doors Perspectives of control, manipulation and oppressionKakabadsi says.

“And who owns the data? Who has access to it? Is it ethical to dissect people like pets?”

The result, he warns, could be “weakening the many empowered in favor of the few”.

Stephen Northham, So says, Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Winchester Unjustified fears. In addition to his academic work, he is the founder of the British company BioTeq, which has been manufacturing contactless and implantable chips since 2017.

His implants are aimed at people with disabilities who can use them to open doors automatically.

“We have daily consultations and We have performed over 500 transplants in the UKBut the virus slowed everything down a little bit.”

“This technology has been used in animals for years. They are very small, idle things. no risks‘, he argues.

Back in Holland, Baumann describes himself as a “biohacker”, Someone putting pieces of technology into their body to try and improve their performance. It has 32 implants in total, including door opener chips and built-in magnets.

“Technology keeps evolving, so I keep collecting more,” he says. “My implants strengthen my body,” he says. “I don’t want to live without them.”

“There will always be people who don’t want to modify their bodies. We should respect that, and they should respect us as biohackers.”

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