by Dr Rahim Said
Imagine walking into a mamak shop, ordering one roti canai banjir, teh tarik or laksa and instead of pulling out your phone or tapping your card, you simply look at a QR code and say, “Pay five ringgit.” Transaction done — no wallet, no phone, no hands.
Welcome to the future Alipay+ has just introduced to the world.
In Hong Kong recently, the world’s first real-world payment using smart glasses was tested.
Alipay+, through a pair of Meizu StarV Snap smart glasses, has integrated an eWallet payment feature into eyewear. Yes, glasses. The kind you wear on your face. Now with built-in payment power.
How does it work? In simple terms: the glasses scan the QR code using a tiny camera, you tell them the amount, and your voiceprint (like a vocal fingerprint) confirms it’s really you.
No need to pull out your phone or remember passwords. It’s basically like having your own personal cashier in your specs.
For consumers, this means one less thing to carry, faster transactions, and a cooler way to pay for your bubble tea or latte at your favourite cafe.
For businesses, it opens up new possibilities for hands-free, seamless checkouts — and yes, a whole new reason to sell you those fancy AR glasses you didn’t think you needed.
Alipay+ — already handling payments for over 1.7 billion eWallet users globally — believes this is the next big step, much like how the smartphone replaced cash and cards.
Make no mistake, if this catches on, your glasses might soon be doing more than helping you see clearly; they’ll be helping you buy dinner, pay for parking, or book a Grab ride.
Of course, there are questions. How secure is it? Will it drain your glasses’ battery before lunch?
More crucially — will it make you look like a tech nerd walking around with a pair of glasses you don’t need.
Time will tell.
For now, it’s a bold glimpse into how payments could work in a future where we speak to our devices and leave our wallets at home.
Malaysia might not have a release date for these payment glasses yet, but if Alipay+ has its way, your next mamak session could soon be settled with just a glance and a voice command.
(The views of the writer are entirely his)
WE