Big news is stirring amongst Costco members today. The Costco in Issaquah, Washington is seen testing membership card scanners at its entrance recently.

Have you ever watched the person in the checkout line ahead of you get turned away because they don’t have a membership card that matches their ID? No matter how full their cart is, Costco employees are sticklers for making sure your ID matches your membership card (which they scan before they start scanning your items). Not only is it a big inconvenience to be turned away at the register, but also for the employees to put all those items back throughout the store!

The Issaquah, Washington Costco is right near the Costco Headquarters. Testing this concept of scanning your membership before all that shopping gets done seems like an obvious step that can save a lot of hassle for both members and employees.

Costco Membership Card Scanner

Reading people’s thoughts online, it seems like most people are fans of the idea. No waiting in line for the conversation between employee and person trying to avoid getting turned away. And there are also valid questions and concerns around waiting time at the entrance to scan your membership and confirm it matches your photo ID. Other questions around gathering data have come up as well. Are they going to track the length of time you’re in the store and how much you buy? Is it to help with shoplifting?

Something to note is that one Costco member from the UK explained they’ve been scanning their card at the entrance for the entirety of the 20 years she has been a member.

So it all comes down to- what do you think? Are you a fan of this idea or not? Let us know why!

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