Five ID raises $6M to scale palm biometric payments

Five ID has raised an additional $6 million to accelerate the launch of its palm biometrics payment system, which is gaining traction in the UK and Ireland.

The startup was founded by former Revolut employees Maria Marti Garcia and Thibaut Grenverier, with the latest injection of capital following an earlier $2.5 million pre-seed round.

Five ID currently operates around 80 terminals in the UK and Ireland, with plans to expand to the U.S., where research has shown that nearly 50 percent of consumers would use palm biometrics for payments.

Five ID’s 10‑person team builds its own software and hardware and employs machine‑learning models for biometric matching. Its terminal is a compact unit with an angled display and a palm sensor, designed to mimic the simplicity of tap‑to‑pay interactions. The terminals support both biometric payments and standard contactless card payments.

Its palm-based device is established in shops, restaurants and gyms, with users able to link their credit cards, loyalty programs, gym memberships and bank accounts to its biometric authentication platform.

Marti Garcia was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for her work in fintech developing a palm biometrics payment platform. Formerly a part of Revolut’s SME payments team, she left Europe’s most valuable fintech firm to build an alternative to card-network payments.

Five ID’s system focuses on palm‑vein biometrics to authenticate users and route transactions across multiple payment rails, bypassing traditional Visa and Mastercard infrastructure. Enrolment takes around 30 seconds: users scan their palm once, link a payment method and can then authenticate at any Five ID‑enabled terminal.

Five ID is also pursuing deployments in stadiums and supermarkets and closely following developments in stable coins and cryptocurrencies. The company’s long‑term vision extends beyond payments to broader identity verification, including age‑restricted purchases, using privacy‑preserving “yes/no” checks rather than sharing personal data.

Based in London, England the start-up was founded in 2024. The company is now focused on scaling deployments, expanding its team, and growing its merchant base. Since its commercial launch in June 2025, Five ID has processed 374,000 transactions and onboarded 2,500 palm users.

The platform is currently processing $20 million in annualized payment volume. Five ID has raised $8.5 million to date, including a Series Seed round at a $26 million post-money valuation led by 13Books Capital II LP.

Article Topics

biometric payments  |  Five ID  |  funding  |  palm biometrics  |  palm vein authentication