Fingerprint and facial scanning are commonplace due to their use in mobile devices, but palm scanning is finding a niche in retail.
One of the main reasons palm biometrics have been adopted in new merchant implementations across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East is that they don’t require users to touch the scanner. Additionally, palm scans are highly accurate and secure due to the uniqueness of palm ridges and veins.
China’s tech giant Tencent has led several recent palm payment initiatives, including a new launch in Thailand to compete with rival Alipay’s PL1 palm reader. Early trials of Tencent’s platform have focused on convenience stores, where the demand for frictionless checkout may drive biometric adoption.
In Europe, Poland’s Autopay is piloting its HandGo palm payment system. The company has highlighted the product’s potential impact in the wellness and sports industries.
Fan Facial Recognition
Sports arenas are becoming a proving ground for payments, as they can reduce long queues and improve the fan experience. Biometric authentication is a natural fit in these environments, but U.S. consumers’ relative comfort with facial recognition has positioned this technology ahead of palm scanning.
For example, San Fransisco’s Chase Center, home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, recently trialed a facial recognition payment system that allowed fans to pay-by-face at concession stands.
Taking it a step further, Gilette Stadium, home of the NFL’s New England Patriots, unveiled plans to let fans use facial recognition for both ticketless entry and concessions payments.
The Number of Competing Formats
While there are clearly use cases for biometric authentication, there are also many barriers to widespread adoption in retail environments. One of the main obstacles is the cost of installing and maintaining scanning equipment at checkouts.
Additionally, customers must voluntarily provide their biometric data to either a merchant or a reusable biometric credential provider like CLEAR, which offers expedited airline entry via biometrics.
Another challenge is the number of competing biometric authentication formats. In addition to facial scanning, fingerprint identification, and palm scanning, there is also the potential for iris scanning platforms to gain traction.
