Betting on the Future of Payments: Handwave snatches $4.2M round
Updated: Aug 25, 2025
A few years ago, paying with a simple wave of the hand sounded like something out of science fiction. Today, it’s becoming a reality and a new European player is pushing this vision further than ever before.
Handwave, a Latvian fintech startup, is building palm-recognition technology for payments and identity verification. No cards. No apps. No PIN codes. Just a hand. While global giants have experimented with biometric payments, Handwave is proving that the Baltics can develop technology with the same ambition and bring it to the global stage.
Why it matters
Retailers today face two conflicting pressures: reduce costs and deliver smoother customer experiences. Payments often sit at the heart of both. Handwave’s solution promises a faster, cheaper, and more secure checkout process, one that doesn’t rely on plastic cards or mobile devices. For customers, that means convenience. For merchants, it means efficiency and lower transaction costs.
The founders, Jānis Stirna and Sandis Osmanis-Usmanis, are no strangers to the payments industry. Their background at Worldline, one of the world’s largest payment providers, gives them a clear view of how this technology can scale. In just three years, they’ve developed both the hardware and software in-house, a move that not only reduces costs but also strengthens control over the full payment stack.
Why Outlast invested
At Outlast, we back founders who are building companies designed to endure. Payments are not about hype; they’re about trust, scale, and resilience. Handwave’s team combines deep industry expertise with the courage to build an independent European alternative in a space dominated by U.S. and Chinese giants.
The company has already secured key financial partners in Europe, signed an agreement with Visa, and is preparing to roll out pilots across the continent. Starting in the EUm the world’s toughest regulatory environment, isn’t the easy path. But it’s the right one. Compliance built here sets the standard everywhere else.
The bigger picture
For us, Handwave represents more than a novel way to pay. It’s proof that the Baltics can produce world-class fintech that challenges the status quo. It’s a bet on the next generation of payment infrastructure, one that puts independence, security, and user experience at its core.
We’re proud to stand alongside Practica Capital, FirstPick, and Inovo.vc in supporting Handwave’s $4.2 million seed round. This is just the beginning, but the vision is clear: building a global payment platform that outlasts trends and reshapes how we interact with everyday transactions.
Stake786 Great insights! Handwave’s funding round highlights the growing potential of biometric payment technology and how innovation can make digital transactions faster, more secure, and convenient.
$4.2M is a serious amount for a company working on a new way to handle payments. What I find interesting is that the idea isn’t just about moving money faster, but changing how we interact with payment systems altogether. If it works smoothly in real life diamondexch99
$4.2M is a serious amount for a company working on a new way to handle payments. What I find interesting is that the idea isn’t just about moving money faster, but changing how we interact with payment systems altogether. If it works smoothly in real life, I could see this becoming a useful option. It reminds me how quickly payment features are changing across platforms like Playinexch365.
The handwave idea caught my attention because payments are already becoming more convenient, but this takes it a step further. I can see why investors would be interested if the technology can make payments both fast and practical. It’ll be interesting to see whether people actually get comfortable using gestures to pay. Payment methods are something I also keep an eye on when using Playinexch247.
I think the future of payments is heading toward making transactions much quicker and easier. The idea of using a simple hand gesture instead of going through several steps sounds pretty interesting, especially for everyday purchases. If technology like this becomes reliable, it could change how people think about paying. I’m also interested in how payment options continue developing on My99Exch.