Kyrgyzstan’s MBANK has showcased MPay Alakan, a service that lets shoppers pay in stores using palm biometrics without cards or a phone.
At the MTalX conference on October 6, MBANK demonstrated how the system works: a shopper holds their palm over a checkout scanner, and the money is debited from their selected bank account. The system recognizes the palm vein pattern, which MBANK CEO Marat Toraliev said protects against unauthorized payments using photographs.
To use the service, customers must register their palm once via the MBANK app and choose an account for debits. Only one hand can be registered. MBANK plans to set up registration points across its own branch network and at select locations nationwide, including Asia hypermarkets.