The Chinese tech giant Tencent has brought to the Chinese market the ability to pay with the palm of the user's hands. The experiment started at Beijing Airport, where subway passengers can pay with their palm to board the train through the WeChat Pay service.
Users simply need to activate the palm recognition service and scan their palm at the special terminals located in the metro station. Then, they simply hold their open palm over a scanner at the subway entrance and automatically pay the ticket through their WeChat account.
The technology is based on the recognition of the surface of the palm in combination with the veins of the hand and was developed by the artificial intelligence company YouTu.
"In our effort to improve performance and simplify the user experience, we've made the new technology more senior-friendly and accessible to people with disabilities," it says.
Tencent plans to expand this payment method to retail stores, restaurants, supermarkets and elsewhere.
The new payment method has sparked backlash on social media, with many concerned about user privacy in a country where facial recognition payments have been available for years and biometric data theft is widespread.
Others find it convenient and fast, and it allows someone to pay even if their cell phone battery is dead. It is worth noting that WeChat and AliPay account for 90% of mobile payments in China.
Source: UnBoxholics.gr