Wave your hand to pay: Ant Group’s Alipay files patent application for palm recognition used in mobile payments

A subsidiary of Alibaba’s fintech affiliate has filed an application for the use of palm recognition in payments using mobile phones and other devices. Tencent’s WeChat Pay in May started allowing riders in Beijing’s Daxing Airport Express Line to pay train fares by showing their palms. — SCMP

Alibaba Group Holding’s fintech affiliate Ant Group has applied for a patent involving the use of palm recognition in digital payments, as Chinese tech firms race to explore the usage of biometrics in cashless transactions.

With facial recognition becoming an increasingly common way of verifying payments in China, Ant subsidiary Alipay (Hangzhou) Information Technology Co in March filed an application for a patent on the use of palm recognition in payments and devices, according to information released this week by business registration website Tianyancha.