Alibaba's founder Jack Ma purchased an old German stamp for 20 euros ($21) on his website Taobao in the presence of Vice-Premier Ma Kai and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and paid for the same with his face.

During the opening ceremony of CeBIT, the world's largest high-tech trade fair in Hanover, Jack Ma introduced a new payment method "Smile to Pay" to the world. While he was paying, he took a picture of his face and after the image was recognized by the system, all he needed to do was a simple "confirm" click.

The technology was jointly developed by Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group Co, a group which runs the online payment system Alipay, and a Chinese technology company, said Sabrina Peng, a top executive of Alibaba's finance unit.