Alipay Wallet, a leading global mobile payment platform, has pioneered the launch of fingerprint payment in China. Currently, Alipay Wallet users can enjoy this service on Samsung's latest flagship phone, the GALAXY S5.
 
  This is the first time fingerprint payment has been implemented on a smartphone in China. This move not only brings users a safer and more convenient payment experience, but also leads the domestic mobile payment industry from the era of digital passwords to the era of biometrics.
 
  Starting in July, Alipay Wallet's fingerprint payment function was rolled out in a limited rollout on the Samsung Galaxy S5, with users gradually receiving system update notifications on their phones. New Galaxy S5 users can simply download and install Alipay Wallet from the Samsung official app store or 4G Life app to enjoy the secure and convenient fingerprint payment experience.
 
  To use fingerprint payment, users must first register their fingerprint in their phone settings, then enable fingerprint password in the Alipay Wallet's mobile password section. After a series of verifications including fingerprint comparison and payment password, fingerprint payment will be officially enabled.
 
  Once enabled, users no longer need to enter cumbersome numeric passwords when shopping or transferring money in Alipay Wallet. They can simply swipe their finger on the fingerprint sensor located on the HOME button to complete the payment. Since the service is still in the trial phase, users can currently only experience this in small-amount password-free scenarios. The scope of application will be gradually expanded in the future.
 
  For the payment industry, choosing the most secure and convenient identity verification method is a perennial topic. Numerical passwords, currently widely used in the industry, have been used for over 50 years due to their low cost and ease of use. However, with the emergence of cyber viruses, fraud, and other black market activities, the security and reliability of numerical passwords composed of Arabic numerals and letters need further improvement.
 
  Alipay's fingerprint payment experts explained that compared to numeric passwords, fingerprints offer uniqueness, stability, and difficulty in duplication, making them more secure and difficult for hackers and malicious actors to crack. Some users commented online, "With fingerprint payment, even if my phone is lost, I can rest easy."
 
  It is understood that in the fingerprint payment solution developed in cooperation with Samsung, all fingerprint data is stored locally on the device and is not uploaded to the cloud. This effectively prevents security incidents that could result from server attacks.
 
  Besides improved security, fingerprint payment also makes payments more convenient. Users often face a paradox with numeric passwords: a good password is inevitably long and complex, but complex passwords are difficult to remember, resulting in frequent password forgetting. Furthermore, the relatively small screen size on mobile devices often leads to accidental key presses when entering numeric passwords. Fingerprint payment eliminates the hassle of racking your brains for a password and nervously entering it.
 
  As the world's largest mobile payment platform, Alipay processed 2.78 billion mobile payment transactions in 2013. Alipay Wallet's pioneering fingerprint payment trial on Samsung's Galaxy S5 sparked attention from both the mobile payment and smartphone industries.
 
  An Alipay Wallet representative stated that there is a consensus within the payment industry that biometrics will lead the mobile payment wave. Alipay Wallet's foray into fingerprint payment marks the beginning of the biometric era in mobile payments in China, potentially signaling the start of a new wave, with other major smartphone manufacturers expected to follow suit.
 
  In China's third-party payment market, Alipay has consistently led innovation in various models and technologies for many years. It has also been at the forefront of exploring new mobile payment technologies, having launched QR code and sound wave payments in recent years. The company also possesses substantial technological reserves in areas such as Bluetooth payments.
 
  The Rise of Third-Party Wealth Management Requires Careful Verification
 
  Third-party wealth management originally referred to independent intermediary wealth management institutions, generally not representing banks, insurance companies, or other financial institutions. They provide comprehensive financial planning services by analyzing clients' financial situations and investment needs. However, due to its rapid development, this wealth management model, which has been established in Europe and America for many years, has seen uneven quality in China and urgently needs further regulation. At the end of June, insurance regulators issued an urgent notice requiring insurance companies to conduct comprehensive self-examinations of their sales personnel's involvement in the sale of non-insurance wealth management products, focusing on regulating and eliminating improper sales practices of third-party wealth management products.
 
  To effectively protect consumer rights, properly address the risks of third-party wealth management, and improve service quality, since mid-May of this year, Xinhua Insurance has successively formulated four documents and notices regarding the standardization of sales personnel's business operations, risk warnings, and compliant operations. Recently, at a system-wide special work conference on the risks of third-party wealth management products, Chairman Kang Dian put forward clear requirements for effectively preventing the illegal promotion of third-party wealth management products, strictly prohibiting sales misrepresentation, standardizing industry self-regulation, conducting risk self-examinations, formulating management standards and systems for various customer activities, and promptly addressing various potential risks. The head office's channel departments are required to complete the signing of compliance commitment letters for their respective business teams by July 31st, establish a reward-based whistleblowing mechanism, and set up a nationwide unified customer service hotline (95567) to accept reports from customers and internal/external staff regarding suspected illegal or irregular activities by sales personnel. Xinhua Insurance has formulated strict risk control systems, established a standardized internal control system, and conducted related publicity and deployment, ensuring its effective implementation in company operations and specific business activities.
 
  For insurance companies, the most direct losses lie not only in the economic losses incurred by customers surrendering policies to purchase third-party wealth management products, but also in the damage to the company's brand reputation. Therefore, to ensure the company's sustainable operation and development, in addition to strictly adhering to the regulatory requirements of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, self-discipline is also required. This is the fundamental guarantee for the company to provide continuous services to customers and a prerequisite for Xinhua Insurance to establish a "four-phase" customer relationship of "acquaintance, understanding, trust, and reliance."
 
  A relevant person in charge of Xinhua Insurance reminded consumers that the potential risks of third-party wealth management are currently very high, and consumers' ability to identify potential risks is not yet adequate; therefore, they should be aware of these risks. Tip 1: High returns come with high risks; this is a fundamental principle of investing. If you encounter a financial product with expected returns far exceeding those of fixed-term insurance investment instruments, a very low entry threshold, and a salesperson promising guaranteed principal and returns, be wary and avoid falling into a "wealth management" trap. Tip 2: Consumers should first verify the qualifications of the institution and salesperson selling the financial product. For example, insurance companies and insurance intermediaries are authorized to sell insurance products, not private equity funds or limited partnership financial products, which have become popular with third-party financial institutions in recent years but have also caused numerous disputes. If someone is selling third-party financial products in the name of an insurance company, consumers can verify the salesperson's identity and the product's authenticity by calling the insurance company's customer service hotline.