Handwave, a fintech company based in Riga, has broadened its relationship with Visa to accelerate the deployment of palm-based biometric payment solutions throughout Europe. The expanded partnership allows Handwave to incorporate Visa's tokenisation, authentication and fraud-prevention capabilities, creating a secure mechanism that connects payment cards to users' palm prints. The arrangement also encompasses market research, promotional assistance and entry to Visa's network of partners, with both organisations aiming to integrate Handwave into the Visa Acceptance Platform—a move that could enable banks, payment processors and retailers already linked to Visa's systems to adopt the technology. The Baltic states will be the first region to receive the rollout, with Handwave already negotiating with financial institutions and retail operators on pilot initiatives scheduled to advance toward live deployments before year's end.

About Handwave

Handwave develops biometric payment and identity verification technology centred on palm recognition. The platform allows customers to attach payment cards, loyalty schemes and identity credentials to their palm, enabling transactions, loyalty programme participation and age checks. The company has constructed its technology as a layer that integrates with the existing payment systems deployed by financial institutions, processors and merchants.

The partnership's scope

Through this agreement, Handwave gains the ability to embed Visa's technologies to streamline and protect card registration, allowing customers to enrol payment methods in seconds via the application. Handwave will utilise Visa's tokenisation and authentication systems to bind cards to a user's palm securely, converting sensitive payment data into encrypted digital tokens that safeguard both consumers and retailers. Integration with Visa's fraud detection and risk management tools, particularly Decision Manager, provides continuous security oversight—guaranteeing that biometric transactions maintain the same protective measures and regulatory compliance as conventional card payments while delivering a rapid, friction-free transaction process.

Beyond the technical integration, Visa will furnish Handwave with market research, promotional campaigns and strategic guidance to facilitate growth in European regions. The collaboration also encompasses identifying expansion opportunities beyond the Baltics, which represents the initial deployment zone.

Consumer adoption trends

Palm-based biometric payments are emerging as a leading secure option for consumers, with adoption sentiment shifting favourably. Research released by Handwave in March 2026 indicates that nearly half of American consumers would embrace palm-based payments provided that data protection and privacy safeguards were in place.

Generational differences shape adoption patterns. Among those aged 25–34, 46% regard biometric identification methods (such as facial or fingerprint scanning) as trustworthy for payments and loyalty transactions, compared with 28% of individuals over 55. Across demographic groups, 48% report they would regularly use palm payments if confidence in data management practices were established, demonstrating that security assurance remains the primary driver of broader market penetration.

Timeline and rollout strategy

Handwave is engaged in substantive negotiations with major banking and retail organisations throughout the Baltic region to establish pilot deployments that will introduce palm-based payments into conventional shopping environments. The company anticipates transitioning these initiatives to operational, revenue-generating deployments during the current year.

The companies are also progressing toward incorporating the solution into the Visa Acceptance Platform, which would permit payment processors and merchants already operating within Visa's infrastructure to readily implement and provide Handwave's biometric payment offering—substantially broadening market reach across international territories.

Statements

This agreement is a major step forward in making biometric payments ready for everyday use. 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.

Oskars Lakšēvics, Chief Revenue Officer at Handwave

Biometric payments are increasingly becoming part of how people think about the future of paying. 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.

Juris Paegle, Country Manager for Visa in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia

This expanded agreement builds upon an earlier collaboration between Handwave and Visa, which centred on incorporating Visa's Token Management Service (TMS) to facilitate secure, tokenised biometric payments throughout Visa's worldwide network.

Source: ArcticStartup