Pay-by-Palm’s Promised Convenience Clashes With Privacy Concerns

Consumers are increasingly able to use their hands or faces to pay for purchases and prove their age—an added convenience that comes along with heightened scrutiny of how companies handle sensitive personal data.

Amazon.com Inc. is deploying its pay-by-palm device to more retail locations, expanding to all of the company’s more than 500 Whole Foods Market stores by the end of this year. Other businesses such as payments giant Mastercard Inc. have tested new systems that likewise rely on people’s physical characteristics to confirm their identity as part of a purchase. CLEAR, known for its airport security program, offers a ...