China's Alipay pilots sound wave mobile payments

Travellers on Beijing's subway have begun trialling a system that uses sound waves to let them pay for goods at vending machines through their mobile phones.

  3 Be the first to comment

China's Alipay pilots sound wave mobile payments

Editorial

This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community.

According to Xinhua News (translation), e-commerce giant Alipay installed two 'acoustic payment' vending machines on Metro Line 4 in Beijing last week, with more to follow shortly.

To use them, commuters pick their purchase, open up their Alipay mobile wallet app, choose the relevant payment option and hold the phone next to a sensor on the machine.

The handset makes a noise, communicating the payment data to the machine through a unique pattern that is valid for five minutes.

Sponsored New Report – The Future of US Digital Payments 2025: ACH & Beyond

Related Company

Channels

Comments: (0)

[Webinar] AI in the wrong hands: Exploring modern cybersecurity concernsFinextra Promoted[Webinar] AI in the wrong hands: Exploring modern cybersecurity concerns