You are your cash card

A bank in Japan is doing away with cash cards. Oh, they still have ATMs. Just that now, instead of sliding a sheet of plastic into a slot, you'll place your hand on a palm scanner. The Ogaki Kyoristu Bank is adopting the new machines because of the earthquake and tsunami on the country's northeast coast last year. Many lost their homes, personal possessions, and all forms of identification, so they were unable to access their bank accounts until weeks or months after the disasters, not when they needed their funds the most.

Fujitsu developed the palm-scanning technology that uses vein patterns in the person's hand to verify their identity. Fujitsu says its technology quickly differentiates between hundreds of thousands of people, though users will still need to enter their birthdate and a PIN for access.

Fujitsu has also incorporated the scanning technology into computer mice that recognizes the user when they grab the electronic rodent. The automatic ID can be used in place of passwords to log users into online systems.