Installing microchips in employees is ‘the right thing to do,’ CEO says
Head of US tech firm says chip allows employees to purchase food, open doors and log into computers and cannot be hacked or traced
By Michelle Fox
Forget swiping a credit card or badge to buy food at work. One Wisconsin-based tech firm is offering to install rice-size microchips in its employees’ hands.
Three Square Market will be the first firm in the U.S. to use the device, which was approved by the FDA in 2004, CEO Todd Westby told CNBC on Monday.
“We think it’s the right thing to do for advancing innovation just like the driverless car basically did in recent months,” he said in an interview with “Closing Bell.”
The company, which provides technology for break-room markets or mini-market kiosks, is anticipating over 50 employees to be voluntarily chipped.
Westby said he and his family will be chipped, too.
The chip, which costs US$300 per implant, is inserted with a needle between the thumb and forefinger and “barely hurts at all,” he said.
It also takes away the inconvenience of a forgotten employee badge or credit card. Once an employee has the chip installed, he or she can purchase food in the break room, open doors and log into computers.
And for those who may be concerned about Big Brother watching, Westby said there is no way for employees to be tracked.
“Unlike your cell phone that is trackable and traceable pretty much no matter where you are, this device is only readable if you’re within six inches of a proximity reader,” he said.
He also said the chances of the chip being hacked is “nil to none.”
“It is a very secure and safe device.”
Three Square Market’s partner, BioHax International in Sweden, has already started using the microchips in about 150 of its employees, he noted.