FinTech of the Day

Handwave – AI-driven fintech

Dmitry Prostov

11 Aug 2025 — 1 min read

Pay by raising your hand? Handwave is building a palm‑based identity and payment system that lets customers pay, verify age, collect loyalty points, and check in with a single gesture. It scans surface patterns and subdermal vein structures to create an encrypted identifier that can’t be spoofed and doesn’t track location.

The business model revolves around transaction fees; merchants plug in hardware and software to speed checkout and reduce hardware upgrade costs.

The Latvian startup just raised $4.2 M in seed funding from Practica Capital, FIRSTPICK, Outlast Fund, and Inovo.vc and signed a partnership with Visa. With pilots coming to retailers across Europe and the U.S., Handwave offers a privacy‑preserving alternative to Big Tech biometrics.

Would you wave your palm to pay?

#fintech #startup #businessmodel #fintechoftheday

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