Thousands of Swedes have called for the use of futuristic microchips that can be implanted in the hand, under the skin, and can be used daily for various operations, such as accessing the smartphone, opening the door, or setting the alarm.

Those behind the creation of the microchip - which is the size of a grain of rice and is implanted with a syringe - are trying to access other parts of the world. Eric Larsen, who heads the subsidiary of the Swedish company Biohax in Italy, said he is waiting for approval for Italy from the medical centers and the Italian Ministry of Health. Eric Larsen also noted that the chip would be implanted in about 2,500 people in Milan and Rome in the first 6-8 months. Even without the approval of the Italian Ministry of Health, Biohax Italia has already implanted such microchips in several hundred people with the help of a medical center.

"It's a step towards the future. It's exceptionally futuristic, but it's already happening. This technology was born to help us, to give us minor superpowers, "Eric Larsen told Euronews.

But COVID-19 could make people more concerned about their concerns because of public reluctance to approach governments to introduce contagion route tracking applications during the pandemic, Eric Larsen added.

"We see that many in Italy are not happy at all to add a GPS or something else that can track their movements. It could be a danger for us ", said the manager of Biohax Italia and added:" We do not follow movements, we do not have GPS in the microchip, but I think many do not know that. "

We don't need a wallet anymore.

Swedish IT solutions architect Martin Lewin uses the two microchips implanted in his hand for actions such as logging in to his personal computer, scheduling the office alarm where he works, and launching his LinkedIn profile.

But the turning point in this technology will be that Martin Lewin will use the two microchips as an alternative to cash or card payments.

"It's just a matter of eliminating the need to have a wallet, of removing key rings - of removing all those separate 'tokens' that do nothing but create risks, because if you lose them, you lose your identity, ”said former body piercing tattoo artist Jowan Österlund, who is currently the founder of the Swedish company Biohax International. "If you lose your keys, you won't enter your own house. If someone else finds them, then logically they can take your house, as is done in some countries, ”said Jowan Österlund.

In Sweden, microchips can be used as a subway or train ticket, but Martin Lewin hopes that payments will be made very quickly through them.

"It simply came to our notice then. I can't wait to create an ecosystem where the chip is able to deliver all kinds of access, where your identity can be carried with you in such a simple way, " Martin Lewin told Euronews. But it seems that technology has not picked up the pace that the Swedish IT specialist expected. "It simply came to our notice then. I already have the implanted chip for three years, and it seems that another year must pass before the chip works in the payments area ", Martin Lewin underlines.

Meanwhile, in Italy, according to Eric Larsen, Biohax is negotiating with some phone companies and Paypal to make microchip payments possible. A UK company, BioTeq, is also taking steps to facilitate microchip payments.