Alipay Now Has Palm Recognition Tech For Payments

Reports from Yanko Design speak on a new palm payment gadget in Hangzhou shops. Alipay’s PL1 scanner lets a shopper raise a hand above a glass panel and settle a bill without cards, phones or watches.

The scanner captures two patterns in one go: the ridges on the skin and the hidden vein map under the surface. Both patterns link to the customer’s Alipay wallet and confirm identity in roughly two seconds, the writers say.

Biometric Update notes that palm scans are gaining ground. Amazon uses similar gear in Whole Foods across the United States, while Tencent and Visa ran a trial in Singapore late last year. J.P. Morgan also plans a national rollout in 2026.

 

How Does Registration Work?

 

A first‑time user opens the Alipay app or visits a kiosk. They hold a hand above the sensor while an overlay guides finger spacing, then scan a QR code on the phone to pair the wallet to the new biometric print.

The scanner forms encrypted templates from the ridge and vein readings. No raw images leave the store unit; only coded data travels to servers inside China, as required under local privacy rules. That limits the risk of leaks even if a device is stolen.

Alipay states that the error rate sits below one in a million. Because veins lie beneath skin, a photo or mould cannot copy the print. The contact‑free motion also cuts hygiene fears that plague pin pads and shared touchscreens.

Shop staff observing the pilot told reporters that queues advanced faster than phone taps because customers no longer search pockets for cards or power up aged handsets. The flat glass panel cleans in a single wipe, shortening tidy‑up time.

 

Will Shops And Buyers Trust It?

 

In Singapore, Visa asked café patrons how they felt after a palm trial with Tencent. Almost seventy percent called the method safe, a finding that pleased the card network. Alipay hopes similar comfort levels will appear in Chinese surveys this spring.

Privacy advocates still warn that a palm template cannot reset like a password. Once stolen, the pattern lasts for life. Alipay answers that storage is split across secure servers, and that no raw picture ever crosses borders.

Retail bodies watching the tests say certainty around fraud and privacy rules will guide large rollouts. Fines for mishandling biometric data and strong audit trails will likely form part of any national clearance.

 

Could This Replace Cards?

 

Amazon has fitted its scanners to every Whole Foods branch, and early figures show repeat users adopt the hand pass within weeks. In Asia, WeChat’s Palm Pay now lets commuters walk through turnstiles without fishing for coins, notes Biometric Update.

Banks such as J.P. Morgan see promise in the idea because the payment still runs on normal card rails, keeping interchange fees intact. Retailers appreciate quicker lines and fewer abandoned baskets when customers find a dead phone battery.

Hardware costs are a problem, where each terminal runs higher than a contactless card reader. Alipay bets that volume production and joint marketing with banks will bring prices down within two years.

If that happens, wallets may follow coins towards history. For now the palm pass sits in pilot stores, but the pace of new trials signals that raising a hand at the till could soon feel as natural as tapping plastic.

Regulators in each market must still publish clear rules on age limits, storage time and audit rights before every checkout can adopt the hand‑scan method.