NEC supplies face recognition for cashless payments pilot at 30 locations in Toyama, Japan

Digital Garage subsidiary VeriTrans is providing a biometric facial recognition payment service in partnership with NEC for a pilot program in the Japanese city of Toyama.

The “Toyama-city Facial Recognition System Pilot Program” is expected to run from October, 2020 through March, 2021, with the combination of NEC facial biometrics and VeriTrans4G card payment service forming a solution for a range of payment applications.

The program uses facial recognition data as a common identifier, enabling payments at 30 locations in the city, including museums and retailers. Individuals register their biometrics through a smartphone app to link their facial data with a credit card.

Payment authentication is performed on dedicated tablet devices deployed to retail points-of-sale.

The companies tout the speed, convenience, security and touchless health safety of the solution.

The city of Toyama is looking for a way to support convenient tourist experiences in the face of a major labor shortage which has motivated several retail automation projects across Japan. Some of those other projects are also being carried out under the partnership between VeriTrans and NEC.

VeriTrans says in the announcement it plans to continue working with partners on biometric authentication and other cashless payment options as local governments work to build up smart cities.

Article Topics

authentication  |  biometrics  |  contactless biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  Japan  |  NEC  |  payments  |  pilot project