WeChat Pay, run by the nation’s tech giant Tencent, has launched its palm payment service in Macau, at Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) resorts in the first phase.
Macau has now become the first region outside the Chinese mainland where WeChat’s palm payment service has been launched.
WeChat Pay’s palm payment was launched in the mainland in May last year.
While internationally the mobile payment app is known as WeChat Pay, it is officially known as Weixin Pay in the Chinese mainland (yuan e-wallet). Officially, “WeChat Pay” is generally only used for non-yuan payment service such as WeChat Pay HK (e-wallet in Hong Kong dollars).
WeChat, known as Weixin in Chinese, is an instant messaging app, developed by Shenzhen-based Tencent, which also incorporates various other functions such as social media, video sharing platform, transport services, and mobile payment (Weixin Pay).
Weixin Palm Pay enables its users to complete transactions simply by placing their hands on the respective scanners without having to have their smartphones with them.
Weixin Pay users can activate the Weixin Palm Pay service at the respective scanners which capture and store their palm prints and vein patterns.
The palm payment service at Macau’s Galaxy Entertainment Group resorts is now only available for mainlanders holding their Weixin Pay yuan e-wallet who have activated the Weixin Palm Pay service.
Weixin Palm Pay has been launched in collaboration with Galaxy Entertainment Group and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Macau) Limited, aka ICBC (Macau).
A ceremony marking Weixin Palm Pay’s launch was held at the Galaxy International Convention Centre (GICC) in Cotai yesterday afternoon.
In addition to senior representatives from Weixin Pay, ICBC (Macau) and Galaxy Entertainment Group, yesterday’s ceremony was also attended by Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) Director Tai Kin Ip and Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes.
A statement by Tencent yesterday noted that since its launch in the mainland in May last year, the Weixin Palm Pay service has gradually been applied to many scenarios such as office, campus, fitness, retail, dining, and transportation, and has been used at sites including the Ying Tung Natatorium of the National Olympic Sports Centre, Beijing Subway Daxing Airport Express, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen-based fitness chain Supermonkey, and 7-Eleven convenience stores.
According to yesterday’s statement, the first-phase launch of the Weixin Palm Pay service in Macau covers about 60 shops and other outlets at the Galaxy Macau resort in Cotai, the nearby Galaxy Arena, the nearby Broadway Macau, and StarWorld Hotel in Nape.
The statement noted that the newly launched service at the GEG resorts enables mainlanders who have activated their Weixin Pay yuan e-wallet and its Weixin Palm Pay function to make purchases more conveniently there simply by showing their palms.
Weixin Pay representatives briefed those attending yesterday’s ceremony about the Weixin Palm Pay service.
Xia Kai, head of Weixin Pay Hardware Innovation, said during the ceremony that Weixin Palm Pay’s underlying technology relies on the recognition of both palm print and palm vein to create a touchless and high-accuracy user experience.
Xia said that Weixin Palm Pay also incorporates Tencent’s advanced security technologies and financial risk control measures to ensure a safe transaction experience.
Xia also said that Weixin Palm Pay’s pioneering payment solution has passed the tests of the National FinTech Evaluation Centre, adding that Tencent and the centre has jointly developed and issued China’s first palm payment standard at the industry level, leading the industrial application of the technology, as well as exploring adoption outside the mainland.
Xia noted that Weixin Palm Pay is already widely used in retail, dining, transportation, power bank rentals, and other scenarios in the mainland, adding that with its launch in Macau now, his company expects its technology to bring more convenience to users at the Galaxy resorts and enhance their shopping and payment experiences.
Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Wayne Chen Zhangwei, general manager of Weixin Pay Cross-Border Business (HK, Macao & Taiwan), noted that the launch of Weixin Palm Pay in Macau is the palm payment service’s first application outside the mainland.
Chen said that his company is optimistic about the Macau market’s prospects for the development of cross-border mobile payment services.
During the ceremony, GEG Senior Vice President (Marketing Services) James Yang Weizheng said that the company will continue to comply with the Macau government’s policy aiming to enhance visitors’ tourism experience here, adding that its resorts will roll out more services adopting cutting-edge technology in the near future.
Guests symbolically mark the launch of Weixin Palm Pay, WeChat’s palm payment service, for Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) resorts during yesterday’s ceremony at the Galaxy International Convention Centre (GICC) in Cotai, namely Xia Kai, head of Weixin Pay Hardware Innovation (from left to right), ICBC (Macau) CEO Niu Jianjun, Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) Director Tai Kin Ip, Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, GEG Senior Vice President (Marketing Services) James Yang Weizheng, and Wayne Chen Zhangwei, general manager of Weixin Pay Cross-Border Business (HK, Macao & Taiwan). – Photo: Tony Wong
ICBC (Macau) CEO Niu Jianjun (left) tries out the Weixin Palm Pay service, guided by Xia Kai, head of Weixin Pay Hardware Innovation (centre) and Wayne Chen Zhangwei, general manager of Weixin Pay Cross-Border Business (HK, Macao & Taiwan). – Photo: Weixin Pay
