finger biometrics
Gone are the days when you could use a "slug" to purchase a can of soda, because today's vending machines will know who you are and your criminal record before you purchase an item.

American Green Vending Machine (AGM) uses finger vein readers to identify each customer.

"The American Green Smart System is an age verification system that allows the opportunity of merchandising and selling age restricted products. American Green's technology interface is one of a kind and does some pretty cool things such as vein verification biometrics."

Customers must register their personal biometrics and information with AGM before they are allowed to purchase anything.


What makes this story so disturbing, is corporate America's rush to put biometric readers and scanners everywhere.

Imagine in the not too distant future, your new car using a built-in TSA biometric scanner to identify you and your family before you even enter a sports stadium.

But what if you don't drive? That is fine, the TSA has figured out a way to identify you.

Imagine you and your family decide not to take your car to the sports stadium and decide to walk up to an entry gate. Not to worry CLEAR biometrics has installed TSA biometric scanners there too.

Spying on people purchasing age restricted products is big business and AGM and CLEAR are pulling out all the stops to get your personal information.

Last year, I warned everyone that MLB and NFL fans are being encouraged to become one of the "privileged" that uses CLEAR to skip concession lines. Which is eerily familiar to AGM's sales pitch.

An article in Fast Company warns, that biometric vending machines are designed to benefit the "privileged."

"The exciting questions have to do with adult use," says AGM consultant Stephen Shearin, "but the reality is it's a system which specifies exactly who you are." In a school setting, vending of certain products like soda or candy could be restricted to junior and seniors, he says, or to people maintaining straight A's.

Last year, USA Today warned that drug stores could start using AGM's vending machines to identify patients.

The race to identify shoppers has gotten so bad, that retailers like Walgreens, Nestle and Coors want to use Iris tracking cameras!

The Big Brother implications of using biometrics to create a "privileged" part of society, becomes even more disconcerting, when you realize that your personal information might be tied to a worldwide database.

Finger vein readers and a global biometric police database

AGM uses Hitachi's non-invasive M2-FingerVein Reader but what they do not want the public to know, is that it was designed to create a global biometric database for law reinforcement.

Hitachi's M2SYS drop-down menu titled "Industries" reveals that it was designed for law enforcement to identify inmates and much more.

Finger vein readers "are designed to meet government law enforcement agency identification & data management requirements" for Interpol, the FBI and Scotland Yard. (To learn more about M2SYS ePolice readers click here.)


Hitachi's "Industry Overview" reveals what is truly behind finger vein biometrics. Biometric identification will be used to track everything we do, whether it is to purchase products, going to work, the hospital, the bank or travelling.

The Big Brother implications of using biometrics to track everything we do is horrifying, so think about that before you give a corporation your finger vein.