TFH integrates biometrics from Authsignal, Qualcomm for palm payments

Tools for Humanity, the firm associated with Sam Altman’s World crypto and iris biometrics project, has partnered with Authsignal and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. for a demonstration of what a release calls “the world’s first palm and crypto retail payment.”

The demo, unveiled at NRF Big Show 2026, showcases the integration of decentralized identity principles with palm biometric authentication technology developed by Authsignal and Qualcomm Technologies, to offer payments with palm biometrics. Authsignal brings the authentication orchestration platform, Qualcomm Technologies provides its hardware infrastructure and security framework, and Tools for Humanity supports the digital wallet technology.

It includes a “Worldcoin (WLD) cryptocurrency transaction via an integration with Tools for Humanity’s World App Wallet, alongside palm authentication and identity-related capabilities developed and operated by Authsignal.”

The iris is connected to the palm scan, the palm scan’s connected to the wallet

“Retail is at a moment where payments need to be faster, simpler and more intuitive for both shoppers and merchants,” says Ajay Patel, head of World ID at Tools for Humanity.

“This demonstration shows how palm authentication and digital assets can come together at the point of sale, and we’re excited to explore how proof of human can support seamless, trusted, privacy-preserving checkout experiences alongside Authsignal and Qualcomm.”

“Digital transformation in retail continues to advance at an unprecedented pace thanks to advances in AI and digital identity technologies,” says Art Miller, global head of retail IoT at Qualcomm. “Together with Authsignal and Tools for Humanity, we’re bringing security-focused biometric verification to the physical point of sale, enabling superior crypto payments.”

The firms say the integration is a natural combination of biometric payment authentication with digital identity use cases like identity and age verification.

Authsignal and Qualcomm Technologies are also demonstrating “proximity authentication to create a secure connection between the payment terminal and the user’s device.”

Per the release, “when a user approaches a payment terminal, the authentication request is processed locally between their device and the Qualcomm Technologies’-enabled payment terminal, reducing potential areas of attack for hackers.”