When it is repeated ad nauseam that the cell phone is irreplaceable for everything, technology goes one step further and leaves it aside. It is now possible to pay in the supermarket bringing the palm of your hand closer to a reader without the use of any other device: without phones to approach or scan any QR or bar code, nor virtual or plastic cards nor, of course, using cash.
Within the multiplicity of forms of biometric identification, the palm vein pattern offers extremely high precision. By linking this information with a credit or debit card, the possibility of paying by simply touching a sensor similar to a POS terminal is enabled, reducing payment times with all the necessary security standards.
For the user, the procedure is simple: only once you must register your hand, supporting it on a scanner located in the store. Then you must upload the card details you want to link to make your payments. With this brief procedure completed, in the future every time you approach the checkout line you will be able to pay by bringing your palm closer to a sensor in the payment terminal, without contact, as shown in the video that accompanies this note.
At the moment it is about a pilot project that launched Mastercard in Uruguay, specifically in the Red Expres supermarket chain of the Tienda Inglesa Group, as part of its Biometric Payment Program, aimed at streamlining the payment operation and reducing waiting times at the checkout to improve the customer experience, without wallets of any kind, neither physical nor virtual. Its technology also aims to reduce the risk of fraud or identity theft.
“We are excited to expand our Biometric Payment Program even further in Latin America with the launch of our pilot program on Red Expres,” he said. Federico Cofman, cluster leader for Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay of Mastercard. “Consumers are looking for more options in the way you pay, and thanks to our collaborative innovation, we can offer more fluid and secure payment experiences,” he explained.
This is the first payment test through palm reading carried out in Latin America. In the region there is a precedent in Brazil with another biometric method: under the motto “pay with a smile”, a payment test using facial recognition was implemented in supermarkets in São Paulo. There are other plans to implement biometrics in the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere in the world.
Asked if payment with the palm can reach be implemented in Argentinaat Mastercard they explained that they are doing this test “in a controlled commercial environment” like that of the Uruguayan chain and that the company’s focus is on “analyzing ease of use, performance and using consumer opinions to improve the solution and the user experience if necessary, so it is too early to talk about future launches in other markets.”
The development plan for payments with biometrics that Mastercard began to experiment in Uruguay had technological partners such as Ingenico, Fulcrum Biometrics, Fujitsu Frontech and Scanntech, who joined forces to launch this solution that, they claim, along with simplicity, offers security. “Due to its high level of accuracy in identifying people, palm vein technology helps businesses reduce identity theft and payment card fraud, which cause significant losses,” he said Veronica BustamanteCEO of Scanntech.
