New Telpo POS terminals now in live operation as facial biometrics for retail expand

Telpo has announced its new POS (point-of-sale) devices for payments with biometric facial recognition are being tested in Spain, Denmark and Canada, while deployments in China have already reached live operation.

The product line includes the TPS988, which features a Qualcomm octa-core processor and runs Android 9, with a 10-inch capacitive flatscreen with 800×1280 resolution, and a 3D depth scanning camera, according to the announcement. The devices offer Wi-Fi, Ethernet and Bluetooth communication, with certifications including Paywave/Paypass.

Telpo is the largest provider of facial recognition payment devices in China, and is working with Alibaba to deploy the TPS988 in the country. Facial recognition payments are increasingly common in China, with more than 1,000 7-Eleven stores, Alipay and UnionPay all supporting the biometric authentication method. More than 300 customers worldwide in countries including Russia, Finland, Thailand, and the UK use Telpo facial biometrics for payments, access control, transit, and other applications.

AGTech to partners with Alibaba

AGTech subsidiary Beijing GOT Technology has reached an agreement with AGTech parent Alibaba to provide facial recognition payment hardware and POS terminals to the mega-retailer and ecommerce company, iGaming Business reports.

The partnership is the product of collaboration on lottery distribution models, which AGTech has been a leading supplier of hardware for since before it was acquired by Alibaba in 2016. Alibaba Group’s ‘new retail’ initiatives could be a major opportunity for AGTech, the company believes, and may enable it to expand its customer base through Alibaba’s huge reach.

AGTech won the rights to deploy terminals for the Chinese Sports Lottery and Welfare Lottery in five provinces, plus Beijing and Tianjin, earlier this year, and won 19 lottery hardware tenders in 2018.

RELX launches facial recognition for age restriction enforcement

RELX Technology, a leading e-cigarette brand in Asia, is launching a system with in-store cameras to perform facial recognition for tobacco product sales to prevent minors from obtaining and using its age-restricted product.

Under the new system, called Project Sunflower, minors are not allowed to enter RELX stores, and if age estimation technology detects a suspected minor, staff receive an alert and can request ID from the individual. When making a purchase, customers use a 1:1 photo ID and facial biometric check to confirm their age. The company also plans to able to trace a product found on a minor to its point of sale.

RELX has roughly 60 percent market share for e-cigarettes in China, according to the company announcement.

American Green selected in Oklahoma

Biometric smart vending machines from American Green have been installed by Earthly Mist marijuana dispensaries, according to a press release.

An Earthly Mist representative cites the quality of AGM’s biometric identification feature, which ensures only qualified customers can purchase products, calling it the most accurate process it has seen in use. The combination of self-checkout capabilities with high security, and the back-end sales tracking and marketing capabilities of the AGM were also factors in the decision, the representative states.

“We are thrilled that Earthly Mist is the first group of stores in our part of the world using AGM’s advanced identification technology to deliver visually pleasing, easy-to-navigate, essential information for our customers operating the AGM to select and check out their products,” says LeJuan Williams of Earthly Mist.

American Green is working on moving into other age-restricted sales markets with its technology partner Pan Pacific International.

Article Topics

biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  POS  |  retail biometrics  |  Telpo