Alipay launches facial recognition-based payment system at fast food restaurant in Hangzhou

Alipay recently introduced its facial recognition system for customers at a KPRO fast food restaurant in Hangzhou, according to a report by Payment Week.

A 3D camera situated at the point-of-sale scans the customer’s face to verify their identity, while there is also a phone number verification option for greater security.

The two-factor authentication process doesn’t require a smartphone, as long as the customer has already registered for the Alipay app and enabled facial recognition.

The system uses a liveness detection algorithm to ensure that it can distinguish between a photo and a real human being, in an effort to verify that the person is the same individual they claim to be.

Alipay has been developing the facial recognition for years, initially debuting the system in 2015 a the CEBIT show in Germany.

The company has rapidly accelerating its expansion in other countries to offer service, so it’s understandable that it is working to also expand the offering on a domestic front.

It is also in the company’s best interest to offer more services to its Chinese users to help ensure that said users will continue to use Alipay while traveling abroad.

Article Topics

Alipay  |  biometric liveness detection  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  China  |  facial recognition