REPORTS that WeChat is testing a new contactless payment method using palm scanning has aroused heated discussion online.

On Tuesday, Shenzhen-based tech giant Tencent dismissed the reports, responding that WeChat is working on an internal technical research on palm-scanning payment rather than starting an internal test. There is no scheduled application plan at the moment, it said.

Previous reports said that after users link their palm information to their WeChat accounts, they can show their palms to facial scanners to finish transactions via WeChat Pay.

WeChat, Tencent’s omnipotent mega app, has reached more than 1 billion Chinese people’s lives. Its e-payment function, WeChat Pay, has gradually replaced cash across many major cities. Currently, the most popular payment methods are by password, fingerprint and facial recognition. China has been strengthening regulations on facial recognition use, barring apps from indiscriminate collection of unnecessary personal information.

However, palm scanning may represent a new flashpoint. By scanning a user’s palm print and detecting veins, this technology can recognize and verify unique features. Palm verification only takes 300 milliseconds, while bank card verification needs three to four seconds, according to the New York Post.

Online retail giant Amazon has been testing palm-scanning payment technology in its U.S. supermarket business Whole Foods, starting with a single store in Amazon’s home city of Seattle in April, the Verge reported.

Rolling out the technology would require a large database of biometric information linked to users, leading some experts to raise concerns over user privacy, the report said.