SmilePay launches face biometrics payments in Azerbaijan following Mastercard partnership

Azerbaijan-based startup SmilePay is launching its face recognition biometric payments system at two food retailers in the country. Bravo Supermarket already supports SmilePay, while Araz Supermarket is planning to roll out the face biometric technology later this year.

The device-free and cashless payment technology is designed to allow a seamless checkout experience and is reportedly end-to-end encrypted to maximize security.

“Our facial recognition payment system has nearly absolute precision in ideal conditions, reaching a 99.99 percent accuracy and less than 0.5 seconds detection speed,” explains SmilePay CEO Seymur Rasulov.

The deployment of the face biometric technology comes after SmilePay reportedly received an investment (of undisclosed value) from Pasha Bank, one of the largest in Azerbaijan.

Since the launch of the pilot project with Bravo Supermarket last month, the SmilePay app has been downloaded 2,000 times, and more than 3,000 transactions have been completed from 418 users.

SmilePay clarified that, after the pilot programs, retail and eCommerce companies will be able to cooperate with the company either using its services/software as a solution (SaaS) or acquiring the complete platform (PaaS).

Beyond the partnerships with Azerbaijan-based retailers, SmilePay also recently joined Mastercard Start Path, an accelerator program designed to give fintech companies access to partnership opportunities, insights, and tools to grow.

Leveraging the Mastercard partnership, SmilePay said it intends to bring its face biometric payments to other verticals.

“We plan to bring more convenience to users with recurring purchases, family members, money management, spending-based loans, and taxation done right inside the app,” Rasulov told Mastercard Newsroom.

A similar partnership was formed earlier this year when PopID collaborated with Visa to launch its PopPay face biometrics-powered payments solution in the Middle East region, alongside another in Brazil with Payface.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  contactless  |  facial recognition  |  identity verification  |  Mastercard  |  mobile biometrics  |  payments  |  retail biometrics  |  secure transactions  |  SmilePay