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UAE Stores May Soon Accept Payments Through Your Palm

The technology is known as PalmPay and will be rolled out throughout 2024, allowing users to leave their phones and bank cards at home.

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uae stores may soon accept payments through your palm

Shoppers in the United Arab Emirates may soon be able to leave their phones and bank cards at home as a new payment technology rolls out across the country this year.

PalmPay, a system devised by developers Astra Tech, uses contactless biometric palm recognition technology. It allows users to hover their hand over a payment terminal to make a payment, just like in a sci-fi movie.

“The rollout of the PalmPay technology is planned to happen gradually throughout 2024,” Abdallah Abu Sheikh, founder of Astra Tech, explained. “We currently have a certain number of machines which will be used for testing purposes within the local market infrastructure [ensuring] complete readiness for scaling to over 50,000 PayBy merchants throughout the year,” Sheikh added.

PayBy is a popular UAE payment platform and fintech subsidiary of Astra Tech. The company also has plans to integrate the palm recognition technology with banks “in the future”, enabling users to link their accounts with it.

PalmPay will be free for users who will be able to register using their devices at special point-of-sale terminals. In the future, palm authentication will be integrated into apps, allowing customers to update their accounts with palm prints through an authentication feature on their phones.

Also Read: A Guide To Digital Payment Methods In The Middle East

Astra Tech says the technology is more secure than traditional card payments and is not limited to specific industries or sectors. The company believes PalmPay will work especially well in high-volume sectors such as retail stores and could significantly speed up the checkout experience during busy times.

Aside from the wow factor, PalmPay is said to be a “cost-effective solution” for merchants and could help “financial inclusion for the unbanked population”, Astra Tech explained.

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Ooredoo Qatar’s 5G+ Network Is Built For Machines As Much As People

Built on 5G Standalone and 5G Advanced, the upgrade lays the groundwork for Qatar’s 2030 digital ambitions.

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ooredoo qatar's 5g+ network is built for machines as much as people

Ooredoo Qatar has launched what it calls the country’s first 5G+ mobile network. Customers get faster connections, but much of what the operator is promising is aimed at machines.

5G+ isn’t a new generation of mobile technology so much as a layering of upgrades, building on 5G Standalone and 5G Advanced. The result is the familiar trio of higher speeds, greater capacity and lower latency.

For consumers, Ooredoo promises smoother streaming, more responsive gaming and steadier connections on the move. The service is commercially available through mobile broadband in 5G+ coverage areas, and the operator is aiming it at campers during the camping season. The network has been deployed at locations across Qatar, but the announcement doesn’t name them, say whether smartphone plans are included or put figures on the speed and latency gains.

The business case is more detailed: Greater capacity lets more devices connect and exchange data efficiently, while shorter response times support real-time equipment monitoring and automated processes. Network slicing tailors connectivity to specific uses, and 5G Advanced combined with edge computing targets mission-critical applications that require rapid responses. Expanded IoT capabilities cover industrial sensors, asset trackers and utility meters, the building blocks for automation and future smart city services. The company also cites AI-enabled services and complex digital workloads.

Also Read: WHOOP Goes Arabic, Betting On The Gulf’s Appetite For Health Data

“With the 5G+ network, we are enhancing everyday digital experiences for our consumers, enabling innovation, and strengthening the competitiveness of businesses across the country,” said Sheikh Ali bin Jabor bin Mohammad Al Thani, chief executive officer of Ooredoo Qatar.

“From launching the world’s first 5G network in 2018 to deploying Qatar’s first 5G Standalone core network, we have consistently advanced connectivity,” he added.

Ooredoo ties the rollout to Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Digital Agenda 2030, framing it as part of the country’s effort to strengthen its position as a leading regional digital hub. For that ambition, the devices that matter most may be the ones without screens.

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