You soon won't need to take your wallet on your rides, after this 'quite painless' procedure

An Australian 'biohacker' hopes an implant in his thumb will soon allow him to pay for things using contactless machines

(Image credit: mike prior)

Finding space in your pockets for all your essentials can often be quite tricky when you're trying to go out for a ride. Your phone, your nutrition, your inner tubes and pump and some cash all take up just that little bit too much space.

If you follow the extreme example of an Australian chap you may not have to carry cash or cards with you for much longer. But it isn't a particularly simple process and involves slightly mutating your body...

Meow-Ludo Meow Meow (not his birth name, but one he changed to several years ago) has had a microchip implanted into the back of his thumb that could act like a contactless bank card.

Tech website Mashable describes Meow as a 'biohacker' - someone who is blending his body with technology. Currently the chip can only perform small tasks, but Meow hopes to make the implant work to make contactless payments on the Commonwealth Bank's card machines.

"If you think about it like a cat or dog microchip, it's quite quick and quite painless," he told Mashable, explaining he felt tenderness in his thumb for a short time.

What to pack for every sportive

Meow hopes that the chip will one day mean he doesn't have to carry keys around with him either.

"Your keys and wallet — those two things can be entirely replaced with a chip in your hand," Meow said. "When you put your hands on the steering wheel, that could start your car."

Would you be willing to undergo minor surgery in order to leave your wallet at home? Would you go further than that? Let us know in the comments below.

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Stuart Clarke is a News Associates trained journalist who has worked for the likes of the British Olympic Associate, British Rowing and the England and Wales Cricket Board, and of course Cycling Weekly. His work at Cycling Weekly has focused upon professional racing, following the World Tour races and its characters.