You Want My Fingerprint? How 'bout I Give It to You in Your Eye?

The following is an account by a friend of mine about the lengths that we have gone to in our obsession for security. I guess it's security, can't think of any other reason.

"As he was accustomed to do, Mark went to his local supermarket to pay his
gas & electric bills. Mind you, there is a 50 cent charge for each transaction. That is only 13 cents more than it would cost to mail these items, but he likes the security of knowing the bills got paid. And he gets to interact with the store folk. And he had to go to the store anyway. The bills were very nearly past due. He does not want to get the reputation of being a 'late payer.' That goes on databases.

This dreary, drizzly morning, he set the checks on the mat before the clerk who was behind the counter. The clerk says, "Gee, that coffee smells real good." And it was darn good coffee, too. Mark explained where he got it and what kind to get. It was from a shop nearby. During this banter, the clerk slid an innocuous-looking round disk towards our humble billpayer. He said, "Will you put your left thumb there and then on your checks?"
Taken off guard a bit, Mark noticed it was a stamp pad. About the size of a half dollar. It had a handy plastic round cap -- no doubt to keep the ink wet while the pad was not in use.

He asked, "What's this for?" The lad replied the store now has everyone who presents checks at that counter to have their thumbprint on their checks. A precaution for fraudulent checkwriters, he said. He went on, "I know it seems a little 'big brother'. We used to just have the people cashing payroll checks do it. But my boss now wants everyone to."

Mark then said, "Well, I won't pay checks here anymore." He did not say this in a nasty tone. He did not mean to belittle the young man or put him on the spot. The booth clerk, of course, was only doing his job. Just before he turned to leave the line, he paused and asked, "If I pay with a check out there, at the registers, you don't have me give my thumbprint there. You run some scan on my check to see if the account is good or
something like that." The lad mumbled no real reply. Both remained good-natured about the whole affair. Each appreciated good coffee. All had begun well. Mark then said, "How many people turn you down on this." The clerk replied, "Oh, not many. Most people comply."

What's up with this? Sounds like neoliberalism without the smile.