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Tencent launches WeChat Palm Payments in China

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This week, Tencent started introducing palm recognition through its WeChat Pay service. The tech is to be installed in Beijing’s Airport Express Line, where it will take payments by scanning people’s palm prints and their unique formation of veins without physical contact.

Like the idea of completing financial transactions with the wave of a hand?

That prospect is, as of this week, a reality in China thanks to its national tech giant Tencent.

Swapping out contactless card turnstiles at the Airport Express Line in Beijing, travelers will now be greeted by palm scanners which verify payments based on our unique palm prints and formation of veins, all without any physical contact.

It certainly sounds preferable to the contactless payment implants we wrote about last year which require actual surgery.

Instead, much like a sci-fi admiral barging through clearance checkpoints on a space shuttle, customers simply need to hover their hands over a scanner to be granted access.

Amazon has proved that the technology is effective, and a real convenience boon for shoppers, having installed hand scanners in select stores in 2020 before quickly expanding to Whole Foods.

Those eligible to use the technology are currently limited to mainland China, provided they have completed a verification process for WeChat Pay.

Second only to AliPay in terms of popularity, WeChat Pay has an estimated 1.133bn active users this year which is expected to rise by around 9% by 2024.

While facial-recognition payments have been available for years within the region, Tencent believes customers will prefer palm technology as a staple of the upcoming bio-metric era – which it intends to bring to restaurants, schools, and shops.

Now, of course, the prospect of having millions registered to bio-metric databases is one that has drawn real cynicism on social media, considering China’s recent track record of privacy violations. This move certainly won’t help dispel cries of an impending β€˜surveillance state’ either.

Tencent, as you’d expect, asserts that the move is entirely in lieu of improving financial convenience for citizens.

β€˜In our aim to improve efficiency and greatly simplify user experience, we are making new technology more user-friendly for the elderly and accessible to people with disabilities,’ the company explained.

Nonetheless, keep an eye out for bio-metric marketing campaigns aimed at young shoppers in the months ahead. I’ve a hunch that further tapping into the Gen Z market is what this is really all about.

Tech Editor London, UK

I’m Jamie (He/Him), the Editor in Chief at Thred. Keeping up with gaming and revolutionary technology is my forte, but when away from my keyboard, you’ll probably find me wrapped around a large Tango ice blast at the latest mediocre horror flick. Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback viaΒ email.

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