Copyright Emerce

Tencent Holdings is letting subway passengers in Beijing pay for rides using only the palm of the hand as identification. This is done through WeChat Pay, referred to domestically as Weixin Pay.

Since Sunday, users have been able to palm recognition on the Daxing Airport Express Line.

However, palm prints must first be registered at a designated machine at a subway station. Then they can hold their hands over a scanner at the metro station gates. The palm is recognized based on veins, among other things.

Tencent says it is gradually rolling out palm payments for use in other environments, including offices, campuses, stores and restaurants.

The new payment method sparked heated discussions on social media as many Chinese users have become more privacy-conscious in a country where biometric data theft is common and facial recognition payments have been available for years.

© The Content Exchange, source News