Chinese technology company, Tencent has introduced palm payment technology for use in Beijing’s subway system. The payment system is linked to China’s WeChat Pay platform, allowing users to simply hover their hands over a payment reader to tap on and off the transport network. The biometric data required for the payment is read by the lines in the user’s skin and the veins beneath it. The development raises the prospect of such payments being made in every retail environment in the future.
WeChat is an incredibly popular application in China with over a billion monthly active users. It functions as a messaging app, social media platform, mobile payment tool, and more. It’s heavily integrated into the daily lives of many Chinese people.
The technology was developed by YouTu artificial intelligence lab. The payment system reads the palm prints and veins of a user’s hand. This method of payment is already in use in over 1,500 7-Eleven convenience stores in China’s Guangdong province. Western company Amazon also provides a similar payment service in select stores across the US under the name ‘Amazon One’.
Though paying with your palm is theoretically more secure and private than card transactions, the possibility of a palm payment provider’s cloud database being hacked poses a risk to personal information. On the other hand, the method can alleviate issues such as those experienced by Sydney commuter Meow-Ludo Disco Gamma Meow-Meow, who was fine for fare evasion after implanting a chip from the Opal Card in his hand. The palm payment system makes such implants unnecessary.
The palm payment service can be used by those who have completed identity verification in mainland China. Soon it is expected to be available in offices, universities, retail outlets, and restaurants. While some see this development as a push towards better convenience in payments, it also prompts questions of privacy and the extent to which biometric data can be used for such applications. Amazon’s attempts to establish the palm payment system in the US have been less successful so far.
