Handwave revives the hope of payment via palm print
Payment via palmar biometrics resurfaces with the Latvian startup Handwave, which has just raised $4.2 million to deploy its contactless payment technology via the palm of the hand. In an area where attempts have been increasing for two decades without a real breakthrough, the European actor intends to propose a simpler, more secure solution adapted to the uses of modern physical commerce.
FACTS
Latvian startup Handwave raised $4.2 million to launch its palm-based biometric payment and identity solution in Europe and the United States.
The technology connects a user's palm print to a digital portfolio of payment cards, loyalty programs and identity proofs via a smartphone camera.
Customers can pay, earn points or confirm their age by simply placing their hands on a reader.
Funding will be used for product development, regulatory certification and deployment of commercial pilots in the Baltic and international countries.
ISSUES
Modernize the caisse experience: Handwave hopes to remove the dependency on mobile wallets, cards and apps to offer a smooth, fast and secure payment in a single gesture of hand.
Security & Inclusion: Like other players in fingerprint payment, Handwave relies on venous recognition, proof of life and automatic age verification to reduce fraud and ensure that use is accessible to all customers.
Business-friendly adoption: Handwave offers a simple installation via a reader connected to existing payment terminals, limiting costs and technical complexity for signs.
Positioning a European alternative: Handwave wants to offer a local alternative in a market dominated by Amazon One and Fujitsu, thus strengthening Europe's technological sovereignty over the biometric payment sector.
PERSPECTIVE
- For more than 20 years, palmar biometrics have been trying to break through, particularly under the impetus of Fujitsu or Amazon. But despite increasing use cases (with recent Amazon, Tencent and Visa), this technology remains marginal.
- The public's familiarisation with fingerprints or facials could play a role in its favour, but the perceived benefits remain limited in comparison to the current solutions, such as the partnership between Carrefour and Ingenico.
- Handwave stands out by a mobile-first approach, quick to deploy and oriented to concrete uses (age verification, fidelity). The generalisation of its solution remains conditioned by a simultaneous shift of traders and consumers, still reluctant to abandon card or smartphone.
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