Company microchips employees in the name of cash-free vending machine use - but what's next?

Workers at Third Market Square, a company that installs vending machines in businesses, are being implanted with the chip, which is about the size of a grain of rice.

RIVER FALLS, Wisc. (WTHR) - A Wisconsin company is speeding up time spent shopping for a break time snack by microchipping its employees.

Workers at Third Market Square, a company that installs vending machines in businesses, are being implanted with the chip, which is about the size of a grain of rice. All they need to make a purchase is swipe their hand past a scanner.

The latest innovation is drawing worldwide attention, as 50 employees volunteered to get the implant.

The software developers say it can also literally open doors and unlock computers in the workplace.

But some employees are leery of the new technology and about what's coming next.

"I'd just like to know more about the long term health effects," one woman said.

"This is non-GPS-able. However, there is just as much interest from parents with young kids that want to be able to implant their children with a GPS chip," said Third Square Market CEO Todd Westby.

The company says within the first week of announcing the microchip, more than 100 banks, hospitals, embassies and even government officials inquired about the chip as a way to beef up security.