Overview
- The system recognizes nine movements, including directional swipes, a double tap and a short stroke, and achieved over 90% accuracy in lab tests.
- Added coils detect minute magnetic-field changes during NFC exchanges to translate gestures for tasks such as selecting a tip or approving higher-value payments without touching a keypad.
- Project lead Robert Xiao says many terminals already have sufficient processing power, or can use a small, low-cost module, to enable the feature.
- Researchers highlight hygiene and accessibility benefits, and doctoral researcher Bu Li says gesture codes could add a security layer that is harder to observe than a numeric PIN.
- The approach remains in development, with broader use dependent on field validation, consumer acceptance and merchant or vendor adoption, as cited studies report 69% of card payments are contactless and cash accounts for 33.8% of in-store sales in Germany.