Palm payment - payment methods are becoming more and more futuristic.
Tencent and Visa launched “Tencent Palm,” an innovation that promises to completely change the way we make payments. This method uses the user’s palm recognition to authorize transactions, eliminating the need for a physical wallet or even a smartphone.
The system uses advanced biometric scanning technology, which identifies the user based on the unique characteristics of their palm. To make a payment, all you have to do is place your palm over a special scanner. Within seconds, the transaction is authorized and completed. The system is currently being tested in Singapore, in a pilot program dedicated to Visa cardholders issued by major banks such as DBS, OCBC and UOB.
Although the tests are still in their early stages, the “Tencent Palm” technology offers us a fascinating glimpse into the future of payment methods. If it proves successful, we can expect this technology to become a global standard, completely transforming the everyday shopping experience.
The idea of palm payment immediately brought to mind the movie "In Time" (2011), in which time becomes the universal currency, and people pay for all their goods and services with minutes, hours, or even years of their lives. In that dystopian universe, every person had a biological clock implanted in their hand, and time was transferred with a simple touch. The rich had practically infinite lives, while the poor always lived on the edge.
In the movie, the biological clock was a physical representation of the total control that the system had over people's lives. Similarly, biometric palm payment raises questions about who controls our biometric data and how secure this technology is. In "In Time", access to time was unevenly distributed, reinforcing a stratified society. Could biometric payment exacerbate inequalities? If this technology becomes too expensive or inaccessible for certain social categories, who will benefit?
Even though we are far from a society where we pay with our lifetimes, the idea of turning the human body into a “payment instrument” brings us closer to the moral and social dilemmas of speculative fiction. Could “Tencent Palm” be just the beginning of a reality where technology completely redefines our idea of value and exchange?
