SOON we may no longer need our wallets to pay for anything. A selfie might be all we need.

At least that’s what Jack Ma, Chinese internet tycoon and founder of online merchant Alibaba, is hoping will happen.

Ma unveiled a new e-payment system called ‘Smile to Pay’ at the CeBIT IT fair in Germany on Wednesday, where he was the keynote speaker.

Ma showed off the technology, which uses facial recognition software from a smartphone camera selfie as a digital signature.

“[Using] online payments to buy things is always a big headache,” Ma said. “You forget your password; you worry about security. Today, we’ll show you a new technology, how people in the future will buy things online.”

Ma used his phone to buy a souvenir stamp from a 1948 Hanover trade fair from Alibaba’s e-commerce site.

“In six days this stamp will be delivered to the office of the mayor of Hanover,” Ma said. Smile to Pay will launch in China, before being introduced in other countries. There is no set launch date.

An Alibaba spokeswoman told The South China Morning Post the company is “quite serious” about developing the technology.

Smile to Pay will be launched in China first, before rolling out in other countries. At present no launch date is set. A company spokeswoman said Alibaba is “quite serious” about developing the technology.