The Nose Knows: Alipay Uses Nose Prints to ID Dogs and Cats

What’s New: Alipay, the online payment service of Ant Group, for the first time introduced nose print recognition technology for cats and dogs in its newly launched medical insurance products for pets.

Alipay partnered with China Continent Property & Casualty Insurance Co. Ltd. and ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co. Ltd., an online-only insurer, on the products.

Pet owners can pay between 199 yuan and 700 yuan ($28.50–$100) a year to have their pet dogs and cats covered for multiple common diseases and injuries.

Background: Pet health insurance appeared in China about a decade ago but never gained significant popularity despite a rapidly expanding pet population in Chinese cities. Market data showed that the coverage rate of pet insurance products in China is only 1%, compared with 7% in Japan and 25% in the U.K.

A major issue hindering the business is difficulty identifying pets. Alipay said the nose-print recognition technology will resolve that obstacle. Like human fingerprints, nose prints are unique to each animal. Nose prints can identify animals successfully in 99% of cases, Alipay said, and the technology is expected to be widely used in pet healthcare, urban pet management and other services.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full story in Chinese, click here.

Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com)