Handwave, Visa integration enables linking of cards to palm biometrics for payments

European palm biometrics startup Handwave has announced an expanded agreement with global payments giant Visa. A release says the agreement integrates Visa’s tokenization and authentication technologies into Handwave’s model for safe, seamless card onboarding – and calls it “a key step toward scaling palm‑based payments across Europe.”

Building on a prior collaboration focused on integrating Visa’s Token Management Service (TMS), the new Handwave integration will enable Visa to securely link cards to a user’s palm biometrics, replacing sensitive data with secure digital tokens. Fraud prevention and risk tools, including Visa’s Decision Manager, provide real‑time monitoring to ensure biometric payments meet the same security and compliance standards as cards. The two firms are also working to enable Handwave within the Visa Acceptance Platform, which would simplify integration of palm payments for acquirers and merchants already using Visa’s infrastructure.

“This agreement is a major step forward in making biometric payments ready for everyday use,” says Oskars Lakšēvics, chief revenue officer at Handwave. “We’re building a platform where onboarding your palm and payment card takes seconds. A palm can be scanned with a regular phone camera, while cards are added as easily as in any leading digital wallet. Behind that simplicity is infrastructure built to meet the highest global standards for security, compliance, and performance.”

Handwave’s algorithms measure vein structure and depth, hand shape, skin and blood flow for liveness, and its strategy is rooted in a projected steady rise in the popularity of palm biometrics for payments. The Riga-headquartered company is currently preparing to launch pilot programs with major banks and retailers in the Baltics, aiming for production deployments within a year.

But it has also eyed the U.S. market, where, according to Handwave’s research, nearly half of consumers would adopt palm-based payments “if security and privacy were guaranteed.” That is backed up by new data from Aevi, which shows that while 62 percent of people in the U.S. “expect biometric payments to become one of the most common ways to pay in person within the near future,” just 37 percent trust companies to protect their biometric data. The runway is clear; now providers must nail the landing in terms of customer trust.

“Biometric payments are increasingly becoming part of how people think about the future of paying,” says Juris Paegle, country manager for Visa in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. “Visa’s role is to help enable these innovations in ways that maintain trust, security and choice. By connecting our infrastructure with solutions like Handwave’s, we support experiences that make paying and getting paid more seamless – without compromising on the protections people expect when they use Visa.”

The relationship also sees Visa supporting Handwave with market development, marketing initiatives and other assistance in growing its footprint in biometric payments and identity verification markets beyond the Baltic states.

Article Topics

biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  Handwave  |  palm biometrics  |  Visa