US-based Wisconsin company to implant microchip in employees

New York, July 26: US-based tech company Three Square Market (32M) is offering its employees the option of implanting an RFID chip in their body which would serve multiple purposes.

The chip, which is the size of a rice grain, will be implanted between the thumb and forefinger underneath the skin within seconds, allowing the employees to open doors, login to computers, use the copy machine and more.

The chip implant uses "Near-Field Communication" (NFC) -- the technology which is used in contact-less credit cards and mobile payments.

"We foresee the use of RFID technology to drive everything from making purchases in our office-breakroom market, opening doors, use of copy machines, logging into our office computers, unlocking phones, sharing business cards, storing medical/health information, and used to make payments at other RFID terminals," said Todd Westby, CEO, 32M, in a blog post.

"Eventually, this technology will become standardised allowing you to use this as your passport, public transit, all purchasing opportunities etc," he added.

32M is partnering with Sweden-based company BioHax International for the programme. The employees will be chipped at the 32M inaugural "chip party" hosted at the company's headquarters on August 1 and the company is expecting over 50 staff members to be voluntarily chipped.

The employees who are interested in the technology but not the implant have the option to place the micro-chip in an RFID wrist-band or a "smart ring".

IANS