BBVA testing restaurant app with frictionless biometric payment

More than 1,000 employees of the bank BBVA are participating in a test of an order-ahead app that uses facial biometrics to secure payment through a mobile device without making them wait in a lineup, Finextra reports.

The biometric technology is provided by Veridas, which was launched by BBVA and biometrics and nanotechnology startup Das-Nano last year. The app was designed in partnership with Sodexo Iberia, which operates the cafeteria at Ciudad BBVA’s. It enables BBVA employees to split bills, and incorporates discounts and loyalty points.

“With this project, we’re eliminating the friction points for customers when they make a purchase in a store. They avoid lines, and have a more digital experience with better information,” says BBVA’s head of global payments Ignacio Bañón, according to Finextra. “The Group is working to make invisible payments possible through pilot projects with large firms in different sectors.”

BBVA plans to integrate machine learning with the technology to provide an invisible payment application for self-service restaurants which recognizes items on the user’s tray with images taken by their mobile device’s camera, and charges the card associated with the user, who is verified with facial recognition.

Article Topics

authentication  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  Veridas