Biometric payments on the rise, with face, iris, and fingerprint recognition deployments

Several companies have released new biometric payment platforms or unveiled new projects and data this week. Veritran unveiled a new digital payment service using facial recognition in Brazil, PayEye announced the first cinema in Poland (and the world) with an iris payment system, and Visa partners with VTB and O.Pay for retail payments.

Veritran unveils face recognition-powered payment system

The solution uses 3D biometric technology and can authenticate consumers’ identity by scanning their face with the help of a USB camera.

The tool was developed for banks and fintechs looking to upgrade their payment systems. According to Veritran, the solution can also be integrated into existing digital wallets.

The company picked up 3D biometric face authentication capabilities through a recent partnership with FaceTec.

Users interested in the service will have to register their facial biometrics during the banking onboarding process and opt-in for this form of payment at the bank.

They will then be able to use their face as a way of payment in any store offering facial recognition as a payment method.

Veritran has reportedly developed the solution as part of Brazil’s Digital Payments Solutions initiative.

PayEye announces first cinema accepting iris-recognition as a form of payment

The Nowe Horyzonty Cinema in Wroclaw, Poland, will be the first worldwide to accept iris recognition as a method of payment, according to an announcement from PayEye.

The move also reportedly represents the 150th facility in Poland utilizing PayEye’s biometric technology, which has already been deployed by the firm in several locations, including aqua parks and swimming pools, beauty salons, clinics, and more.

“By introducing payment with the eye, we will combine not only security but also modernity and convenience for cinema lovers,” said Daniel Ratuszniak, president of the Nowe Horyzonty Cinema.

“We are not only open to innovative phenomena in cinema, but also to new technologies, which is why we joined the pilot project with PayEye,” he added.

In order to pay via iris recognition, users first have to download the PayEye and take a close-up photo of their eye.

The unique pattern is then saved and encrypted by the app and used as a match every time a user wishes to complete a translation in front of a PayEye terminal.

Visa partners with VTB and O.Pay for retail payments

A partnership between Visa and Russia’s VTB Bank is putting facial recognition for biometric payments in the KiO Kitchen network of culinary shops in St. Petersburg.

The O.Pay biometric solution is supplied by O.Vision, a member of VTB’s accelerator program, and enables customers to pay with a glance for less than a second at one of the specialized terminals deployed under the partnership. To do so, customers must download O.Vision’s smartphone application for iOS or Android, register their phone number and enroll their face biometrics, and then link a payment card to the service.

For the first four months of the service’s operation, customers using it to pay with a Visa card will receive a 20 percent discount.

By allowing payment without a smartphone or card, the solution provides an additional contactless option, and speeds up the service process, according to the announcement.

O.Vision says more than 50,000 people use its technology every day, and with the implementation of O.Pay the company plans to double its users by the end of this year.

“The pilot with O.Vision will allow us to test the facial recognition technology for payment, and evaluate the maturity, accuracy, and speed of recognition algorithms that ensure the security of payments,” said VTB Bank Head of the Department of Management and Coordination of Technological Changes Sergey Bezbogov. “The solution has a built-in anti-spoofing system, which avoids the possibility of identity substitution when paying by facial biometrics. The identification algorithm analyzes many parameters and minimizes the probability of false admission.”

“Payment using biometrics is becoming more common and popular among consumers. According to Visa data, two-thirds of customers (70 percent) consider biometric payments to be an easier way to make payments,” Visa Russia Products Department Head Yuri Topunov. “At the same time, 46 percent of consumers call them not only convenient, but also a more reliable way to protect personal payment data when making purchases. We are confident that the new service will help consumers make payments faster, safer, and more convenient.”

Alibaba expands ‘New Retail’ empire

A recent research article published by Wired UK highlights the expansion of Alibaba’s ‘New Retail’ empire, and the technologies that are routinely used in its shops.

Artificial intelligence-powered customization would be the main trend, with machine learning algorithms providing more and more accurate food recommendations.

To facilitate the shopping experience further, more than 200 shops in China now feature bag conveyor belts, which automatically pick and pack shoppers’ items.

Of course, biometrics are also at the forefront of the ‘New Retail’ philosophy, with several shops allowing for facial recognition payments via smartphone.

The trend was spotted earlier this year by Goode Intelligence, which released a report last March illustrating the exponential growth of biometric solutions in retail worldwide due to the pandemic.

Article Topics

Alibaba Group  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  fingerprint recognition  |  fraud prevention  |  iris recognition  |  PayEye  |  secure transactions  |  VeriTran  |  Visa