Would You Pay Via Palm Print? This Startup Is Revolutionizing Biometric Technology

Maria, co-founder of 5, is building a biometrics and authentication platform that enables users to pay, collect points, and access services simply with their palm. This fully contactless system uses a sensor to detect the palm for transactions. The initial idea for 5 emerged during Maria's time at Revolut, where she managed payments for small and medium-sized businesses. A significant problem identified was the increasing cost for merchants due to high fees imposed by traditional payment networks like Visa and Mastercard, especially in the US. The goal was to remove these intermediaries for in-person payments while providing a seamless user experience, unlike the often cumbersome QR code systems. This led to exploring biometrics as a mature technology capable of routing payments through various rails, not exclusively tied to Visa or Mastercard. Maria, an electrical and electronic engineer by background, initially knew nothing about payments. Her entry into the fintech industry was by chance, accepting a job offer from Revolut due to her positive experience as a customer. She found the payments industry, often perceived as boring, to be incredibly interesting and ripe for disruption, particularly in in-person payments. Key areas identified for disruption included the high transaction fees, the disjointed loyalty points collection process, and the fragmented identity verification at the point of sale. For instance, despite banks performing KYC, merchants still frequently ask for age verification. 5 aims to integrate these components. To achieve their vision, 5 develops both the software and hardware. Maria emphasizes the importance of hardware for a seamless and tangible user experience, especially in a new technology like palm payments. The development process involved multiple hardware iterations, with early prototypes often held together with tape. These prototypes were rigorously tested in various scenarios, such as universities, to ensure intuitiveness and robustness. The current physical infrastructure is a small terminal with a sensor on top and a slightly inclined display, allowing users to place their palm over it to pay, similar to tapping a phone. The terminals support both palm payments and traditional card payments. To integrate into the system, users sign up once, a process that takes about 30 seconds. They place their palm on the sensor and link their preferred payment method. After this initial setup, they can use their palm at any location supporting 5. Currently, the technology is primarily deployed in fast-casual restaurants, particularly those focused on healthy food, where customers frequent and desire quick service, often facing long queues. Another significant use case is access control for gyms and health centers, allowing users to enter without needing any physical credentials. Looking ahead, 5 plans to expand into stadiums and supermarkets, seeing these as ideal environments due to frequent customer visits. In terms of product evolution, the next step is to support stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies, building on their existing capability to link palms to cards and bank accounts. Maria acknowledges that consumer reception is polarized: some are hesitant due to the newness of the technology, while others who adopt it become enthusiastic advocates, even requesting expansion to new locations. Security is paramount, especially when dealing with biometric data. 5, coming from a heavily regulated payments background, encrypts all data. A key aspect of their communication strategy is educating customers that they are in control of their data. Users can request data removal, and the act of presenting one's palm is a conscious, intentional action, unlike passive biometric collection like fingerprints or facial recognition. This intentionality makes users more receptive to palm-based biometrics. Investor conversations have evolved significantly. Initially, in the pre-seed round, many investors were skeptical, doubting the feasibility of the technology. However, with the product now live and performing well, seed round conversations have shifted to strong interest and belief in 5's future. The pitch to investors focuses first on the payments aspect, specifically the ability to route payments through various rails to reduce reliance on Visa and Mastercard. The long-term vision includes an identity component. In the future, 5 aims to provide an infrastructure that guarantees identity, ensuring, for example, that "Alex is Alex." This infrastructure would connect different parties anonymously, allowing for age verification in scenarios like purchasing age-restricted items without sharing sensitive personal data—a simple "yes" or "no" answer regarding age qualification would suffice. Current funding has been directed towards growing the team and strengthening the product, with a focus on deployment and increasing the number of merchants served. The team currently consists of 10 people, predominantly technical, with the first hires being software engineers. They operate out of a "warehouse office" in London. 5 currently has approximately 80 active terminals in the UK and Ireland, with plans to expand to the US next, given the co-founders' familiarity with the market. Maria describes entrepreneurship as a daily challenge, often involving issues unrelated to the core product, such as managing faulty hardware components or tight timelines in their in-house terminal manufacturing process. AI plays a crucial role in 5's operations. Beyond the core machine learning models embedded in the biometric system, AI is used daily for automating non-core tasks and boosting productivity. The rapid advancements in AI have significantly impacted 5, allowing them to achieve more with less effort. For instance, they recently built a full proof of concept using only AI prompts, a feat that would have been impossible just eight months prior, accelerating the iteration process and customer feedback loops. Maria's advice for young founders, especially women in the male-dominated fintech industry, includes patience, not taking things personally, and perseverance. When building a team and attracting investors, she emphasizes passion, curiosity, and hard work. She predicts a significant reduction in team sizes across industries, particularly in tech, due to AI's impact on productivity. Maria is most excited about 5's potential to make a broad impact by changing in-person payment experiences and leveraging new possibilities arising from stablecoins and evolving regulations. She expresses optimism about the future of cybersecurity, believing that despite rapid changes and emerging problems, humanity will develop the necessary tools and expertise to tackle them.