RIVER FALLS, Wis. - Forget fobs or key cards, one Wisconsin company is giving its employees the choice to implant a work-issued microchip into their skin to access the building.
Three Square Market (32M) in River Falls, Wis. announced late last week that it would begin offering an implanted chip technology to all employees starting Aug. 1, officially becoming the first company in the United States to do so.
The rice-sized microchip, which would be implanted between an employee's thumb and forefinger underneath the skin, will give them access to enter the building, make purchases in the break room, login to computers, use the copy machine, store health information and more.
According to a press release from the company, the program is completely optional but they expect more than 50 staff members to be "voluntarily chipped."
"Eventually, this technology will become standardized allowing you to use this as your passport, public transit, all purchasing opportunities, etc.," stated 32M CEO Todd Westby in the release.
The microchip technology comes from a partnership 32M has with BioHax International and Jowan Osterland, CEO, based out of Sweden.
According to the company, the chip can be implanted within seconds.
Employees will have this technology implanted at a 32M inaugural "chip party," hosted outside the company's headquarters on Aug. 1, according to the release.