The bankruptcy of Solidus Networks, owner of the Pay By Touch biometric payment system, means that banners owned by Supervalu will no longer be offering the service to consumers.
Albertsons, bigg's, Cub Foods, Farm Fresh, Hornbacher's and Jewel-Osco were the chains that offered the Pay By Touch system in a select number of stores.
Solidus blamed insufficient funds and the current state of the market on its decision to discontinue the service.
The end of the biometric payment system is a steep fall from 2006 when Jewel-Osco announced the Solidus program would be installed in the chain's 204 stores.
Supervalu expressed regret that the service would no longer be available. Company spokesperson Haley Meyer told the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, "Supervalu strives to offer services that make our busy customers' lives easier, and we will continue to look for ways in which we can do that."
Discussion Questions: Does the failure of Solidus Networks mean the end of biometric payment systems at retail? Why haven't biometric payment systems become more widely used in retail settings?