Fingertip Finances

ROCK HILL, N.C. (Wednesday, November 16, 2005) - When it's time to pay, customers at two Jersey Mike's restaurants in Rock Hill, N.C. don't whip out cash or a credit card. They give the staff the finger.

That is, they press their index finger on an electronic reader and enter a personal identification number. The reader matches the fingerprint and PIN to the customer, and then debits the amount from that customer's checking account.

The system, called Biopay, is "a nice alternative to checks," says Bob Katz, franchisee for the two restaurants and a third Jersey Mike's in Fort Mill, S.C. For Katz, the Biopay system costs 10 percent less per transaction than the bank fees associated with a credit card purchase. Biopay customers, like credit-card customers, spend 10 percent to 15 percent more on their meals than do cash customers.

Because Katzs stores are among the first to use the technology, Herndon, Va.-based Biopay paid for installation, which would have cost $700 to $1,000 per store, Katz estimates.

However operationally friendly, Biopay has yet to catch on with customers. Katz says only about two dozen customers have registered for the service so far, but that number might spike when retailers near the Jersey Mike's stores begin offering Biopay.

Or it might not. "Customers either like it or are leery of it," Katz says.

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