WeChat Pay users in China can now opt to authenticate payments with their palm at merchants that support the payment service’s new biometric WeChat Palm Payment solution.

Once they have downloaded the WeChat Palm Payment applet and registered for the service, users can then make payments by ‘swiping’ their palm on a WeChat Pay palm print recognition device at the point of sale.

WeChat Pay has already tested the solution with selected merchants in the Chinese city of Shenzhen and has now officially launched the solution even though it is still undergoing development and will not be widely rolled out for “some time”, according to local media reports.

“The [payment acceptance] device is equipped with a display screen and a palm print recognition area,” Chinese news outlet Tech Planet says.

“After users activate the WeChat palm print payment function, they only need to scan the palm print identification area to complete the payment for goods. More convenient when compared with the traditional password payment and fingerprint payment.

“The introduction of WeChat Pay palm print payment also aims to diversify the payment ecosystem. It is also an important supplement to offline mobile payment scenarios.

“The payment method can be used in various offline consumer markets, such as restaurants, supermarkets, community group purchasing etc and provide users with a new payment option.”

To date, WeChat Pay has allowed users to verify payments with a password or using their fingerprint or face.

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