Scan, Swipe & Go (3/21/00)<br><br>
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Now you can swipe your groceries with no one looking . . . and it's perfectly legal. Utah-based International Automated Systems has developed a complete cashier-less checkout system for grocery stores.
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This week the firm says its first U-Check store in Salem, Utah, which opened officially to the general public in March, has captured approximately 50% of the local grocery market and is now profitable. The U-Check store is the world's only fully self-cashiering supermarket. It features twelve of IAS's automated check-out lanes.
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The store, which has doubled its in dollar volume since its first quarter of operation, also offers its customers a biometrically secured debit card, the "U-Check Card". The magstripe card contains personal banking data, cross-referenced to the individual's real-time three-dimensional fingerprint.
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The "U-Check" debit card has been available for only four months, and already approximately 30% of the households in Salem utilize one. IAS says its checkout system reduces labor costs for traditional supermarkets from 14% to 2%. The company plans to open several additional corporate and franchise stores within the next 12 months. For more information http//www.iaus.com. 
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