How can I get a credit card on my next Panera Bread run? You'll be able to pay with the palm of your hand soon, so don't worry.
The fast casual chain has introduced Amazon One AMZN at two St. Louis-based lociations with plans to expand the biometric technology to 10 to 20 more stores near Amazon's headquarters in Seattle. Panera Brands CEO Niren Chaudhary said this kind of technology provides a level of convenience and personalized service for guests and is one of the firsts from Panera, leveraging technology. Chaudhary expects it to spread pretty quickly in terms of adoption rate. He told Yahoo Finance that it's a natural evolution of biometric technology to drive convenience, loyalty identification, and payment, similar to how it's being used in airports and supermarkets.
In order to use it, customers need to register for Amazon One and then link their MyPanera account.
In terms of data privacy, Panera doesn't have any biometric data, it's held by Amazon.
Panera Bread, then under the ticker PNRA on the Nasdaq, was taken private by JAB Holding Company in April 2017 for $315 per share in cash, a transaction valued at nearly $7.5 billion, including the assumption of around $340 million of net debt, per the SEC filing.
Now known as Panera Brands, with Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Bagels in its portfolio, Chaudhary intends to take the company public at some point.
When asked if there was an opportunity to go public given the uncertainty in the market, Chaudhary said, I think it's very hard to think about what the right timing is. It is certainly our intent, but I think timing is uncertain. He added that we are watching it very carefully and we will make an appropriate decision at the right time. Follow her on Twitter at BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma yahoofinance.com.