This company is installing microchips in its employees

You microchip your dog and cat so you can find them if they ever get lost. But can you imagine getting a microchip implanted in your own hand?

That’s the preferred identification method of the future—at least according to one company in Wisconsin. Three Square Market, a company that provides technology for break rooms and micro-markets (sort of like elaborate, high-tech vending machines), recently announced it’s going to make microchipping available for its workers. But the chips won’t be used to keep tabs on employees’ whereabouts.

“We foresee the use of RFID technology to drive everything from making purchases in our office break room market, opening doors, use of copy machines, logging into our office computers, unlocking phones, sharing business cards, storing medical/health information, and used as payment at other RFID terminals,” CEO Todd Westby said in a press release. “Eventually, this technology will become standardized allowing you to use this as your passport, public transit, all purchasing opportunities, etc.”

The video below explains more details about the microchips Three Square Market plans to use:

About 50 Three Square Market staffers might get chipped right away. Of course, the company was quick to point out that the devices absolutely voluntary. The interested employees will hold out their hands, and the chips will get inserted between the thumb and first finger. The first microchip insertions will happen at a special company event in August.

Three Square Market’s management team got the idea to implant microchips in employees from one of their European operators that utilizes the technology.

“We see chip technology as the next evolution in payment systems, much like micro markets have steadily replaced vending machines,” Westby said in the press release. “As a leader in micro market technology, it is important that 32M continues leading the way with advancements such as chip implants.”

microchip technology photo
Getty Images | Justin Sullivan

It’s becoming easier to pay for goods or access spaces without rummaging around in a wallet or purse. Consider what’s already available: Apple Pay, which lets you use your phone to put a charge on a credit card, or the MagicBands at Disney World, which hold your room key and theme park tickets in a waterproof bracelet. So, you could make an argument that the microchip for humans is just the latest—albeit more invasive—option.

What do you think about humans being implanted with microchips? How far would you go to never have to take your wallet out?

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About the Author
Haley Otman
Haley Otman is a news and features writer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she roots for the University of Michigan Wolverines. A former broadcast news producer, Haley has 10 years of writing experience and has worked in both journalism and public relations.

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