UrID technologies Rwanda is among the startups that pitched their innovations. Managed and Directed by Livingstone Karamage, ‘UrID Technologies is a fintech company operating in Rwanda providing merchants and shoppers with tools and support for a unified, secure and faster payment.

According to Karamage, the technology is aimed at enabling users have their wallets, anytime anywhere.

Security is paramount. PalmKash’s palm vein authentication technology is highly secure, as it is based on the unique pattern of veins in each person’s hand. This makes it much more difficult to counterfeit compared to traditional forms of payment, such as fingerprints or cards.

“You can lose or forget the cards and cash, but not your palm as you carry it wherever you go. Besides, It’s a tedious and boring process carrying cards and using mobile money, so we want to onboard as many digital wallets and accounts as we can into a unified platform using palm vein technology,” he mentioned.

How palmkash works

As explained by Karamage, Palmkash requires a user to enrol with their primary mobile wallet and link it to their palm veins to create an account . Once registered a user can link as many wallets and cards to their palm as they wish and pay with their preferred wallet when they transact.

“PalmKash has integrations with payment providers like mobile money wallets and banks. When a customer registers with us, they link their digital wallets or cards to their palm so that anytime they want to make a payment, they just wave their palm,” he explained.

The PalmKash journey

UrID technologies is a licensed Payment’s service provider founded in 2018 to address the need for an inclusive unified, and, more secure and convenient way to pay for goods and services in Rwanda. The company has since partnered with a number of leading organizations in the country, including FERWAFA, the Rwandan Football Federation.

With its ‘Palmvein’ technology, PalmKash prides in offering a unified secure, convenient, and hygienic digital payments and identity management.

Since its formation, the technology has gone through three generations: from big machines to the latest portable machine.

Once in operation, PalmKash will be used in four different fields.

Palmkash Merchant payments for in-person transactions . Shoppers will be able to authenticate and authorize transactions when paying with any of their wallets.

PalmEvents: According to Karamage, PalmKash already has partnership with FERWAFA and some of the leading event organisers. Event goers can book and pay for their tickets and receive them via SMS, email , WhatsApp or in the events App using our platform.

We are already testing our palm vein technology already at Huye stadium, but in the meantime people are paying for their tickets via USSD and what’s remaining is palm authentication, he mentioned.

PalmSchool: The student wallet enables students to join the digital payments revolution. With this system, parents and guardians can remit school fees and pocket money hustle free wherever they are. For pocket money, the parent retains full visibility of the transactions and statements. The student on the other hand receives the cash from the parent into their account at the school canteen and can authorise payments with a wave of the hand.

PalmTransport: This is a service for long distance travellers both internal and cross- border. Travellers can reserve their seats and book their tickets at their convenience, pay with their preferred m payment mode and receive their tickets on to their mobile. As opposed to traditional cards, here the passengers will use the terminals installed in buses, wave their palms and go.

Safety and security: On the issue of security and safety, safety for both the clients health and data. Karamage said the user has nothing to worry about.

“PalmKash is your personal secure wallet that you don’t have to pre-load. When it comes to data safety, we protect customer’s information with a ‘military grade security system’ that uses modern cyber technology,” he remarked.

Benefits

Security: PalmKash uses palm vein authentication, which is a highly secure form of biometric identification.

Convenience: PalmKash is very easy to use as an individual can simply wave hand at a PalmKash terminal to make a payment.

Flexibility: PalmKash can be used in a variety of different settings, including merchants, events, schools, and transportation.

Karamage has further disclosed that the PalmKash Platform not only benefits the payers but also merchants and operators as it enables merchants to accept any mode of payment with easy reconciliation over a single interface, saving time and cost by eliminating the need to support multiple POS systems and related issues.

“In Q4 this year, merchants will be able to offer a true omni-channel experience for their customers over the Palmkash platform,” Karamage emphasised.

Karamage revealed that PalmKash already has partnership with FERWAFA and some of the leading federations in the entertainment industry.

URiD technologies Rwanda is among startups that pitched their innovations at the just concluded Cybertech Africa 2023 summit.