Tencent today announced a strategic partnership with Visa to introduce its palm recognition technology for digital payments in international markets. The service will first be rolled out in Singapore, where Visa cardholders from participating banks, including DBS, OCBC, and UOB, will be part of the pilot program.
This partnership was unveiled at Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF), where participants at SFF were able to try out the Pay by Palm solution at both Tencent and Visa booths. Pilot users can pay with their palms at Alchemist, a café in Singapore, with expansion plans to be announced in the near future.
Yang Wenhui, General Manager at Tencent Financial Technology Asia Pacific, announced the partnership during his speech on the first day of the SFF. Mr. Yang introduced the principles and advantages of Tencent Palm’s palm recognition technology, showcasing the innovation of Tencent Palm in both user experience and technology application, as well as its commitment to data security and privacy compliance. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary in Singapore, Tencent SenseTech Pte. Ltd, Tencent will provide a series of diversified services, such as technical support, to clients from various industries, and comply with data localization requirements. Tencent is also open for collaboration with clients and partners from various industries to jointly explore the application of palm recognition technology in more use cases.
“This innovative solution represents our commitment to providing a simple, convenient, and secure way for consumers to pay,” said Adeline Kim, Visa Country Manager for Singapore & Brunei. “Based on our biometrics study, close to seven in 10 Singapore consumers see this as a secure way to pay. Our aim is to enhance the payment experience and ensure that our customers can enjoy seamless transactions with the highest level of security. Together with Tencent, we are excited to lead the way in transforming the future of payments.”
Participating pilot users will have to do a one-time enrolment at the merchant point of sale, where they will be invited to tap their Visa card, scan their palm and complete a one-time authentication to enrol. They can then use their palm to pay subsequently. Once they have enrolled, a Visa payment token will be bound to their palm biometric template, allowing them to make future payments at participating merchants by simply waving their palm – no cards or phones required.
Moreover, pilot users can be assured of safety and privacy, which are the utmost priorities in Tencent Palm services. Tencent has developed hardware and software that can recognize individual palms in extreme lighting conditions. Tencent Palm features a two-step process that verifies both palm prints and unique patterns of veins under the skin, ensuring highly accurate readings. Furthermore, user data is encrypted for storage in a manner that is irreversible, preventing decryption, theft, or reuse by other third parties.
