Alexander Volchek, an obstetrician-gynaecologist from Novosibirsk, Russia, recently made headlines after announcing that he recently implanted a bank card chip in his arm, which he hopes will help pay for stuff just by swiping his palm instead of an actual credit card.

The implant has been attempted several times before in Russia, but failed every time, so he hopes to become the first happy recipient of a contactless transmission chip in the country’s history. But this is only the latest addition to Doctor Chip’s growing collection of subdermal implants, some of which he had done as far back as 2014. The Russian doctor first learned about subdermal chip implants almost a decade ago, after reading an article by pseudo-religious opponents of chipping. He knew that such implants had been used in veterinary medicine as early as the mid-2000s, but the thought of humans getting them intrigued him. He soon learned that such chips were already being manufactured in the USA and China, and it wasn’t long before he started experimenting on himself.