Swedish Firm Microchips Employees For Payments, Security

With internal security threats leading to significant losses of data and money for the enterprise, businesses are tasked with not only safeguarding their systems, but also ensuring that their own employees aren’t going rogue.

Businesses can do this in a multitude of ways — from security screenings to authentication measures to tokenization — but one company in Sweden is going further: microchipping its workers.

According to reports Tuesday (April 4), Swedish tech startup Epicentre is implanting microchips in its employees’ fingers to use not only for security purposes, but for other reasons, like giving access to photocopiers or even making payments in the in-office café.

“You can do airline fares with it — you can also go to your local gym,” explained Patrick Mesterton, Epicentre cofounder and chief executive, in an interview with ABC, adding that these microchips can also benefit employees while not in the office. “”So it basically replaces a lot of things you have other communication devices for, whether it be credit cards, keys or things like that.”

In Epicentre’s case, the chips help track and monitor employee activity. The technology can open doors and enable use of office technology, reports explained, with the chip acting as an authentication measure. It can also track behavior like length of work hours and breaks and, as previously mentioned, facilitate payments, though it is unclear whether the chip is linked to a payment method like a company card.

Reports said Epicentre hopes to have 150 workers with microchips implanted in the near future and noted that the chips are implanted voluntarily.