PayPay and Yahoo! Japan launch face biometrics payments at convenience store

Japanese e-payment service firm PayPay is working with Yahoo! Japan to test a face biometrics payment platform at Yahoo! Mart Yoyogi Uehara store in Tokyo.

The self-service POS cash register pilot, similar to the one unveiled by Glory in Niigata City last year, also saw the collaboration of e-commerce company Z Holdings Group ASKUL and its subsidiary Demae-can, a food delivery service platform.

To access the service, users must enroll their face biometrics and a valid ID to their PayPay account from a dedicated site. They can then pre-register for the test demonstration before visiting Yahoo! Mart Yoyogi Uehara store.

After completing the biometric face registration process, shoppers can scan the barcode of the item they want to purchase at the self-POS register, select the “face recognition payment option,” and present their faces to complete the payment process.

Multiple images of the POS system included in the announcement and an accompanying video clearly depict NEC hardware, and a footnote refers to NEC’s NeoSarf POS.

Yahoo! clarifies that all data collected as part of the pilot process (after obtaining the user’s consent) would only be used to provide facial recognition for the POS platform and to “improve the quality” of the service.

Further, the company has unveiled measures designed to ensure the privacy and security of users’ facial images during the face recognition payment process. These include preventing reflections or other people from being captured in the picture while a user authenticates and temporarily halting the authentication process if an unauthorized user is spotted within the frame.

Yahoo! also says the novel biometric payment method will provide users with the advantage of shopping quickly and empty-handed without having to take out smartphones or wallets.

The company explains that it will use the results of this pilot program to further develop new services relying on facial recognition technology for maximum customer convenience.The collaboration comes a few months after some of PayPay’s former executives, now part of biometric startup Sardine, announced a $51.5 million series B round of venture funding.

Article Topics

biometric payments  |  contactless biometrics  |  face biometrics  |  Japan  |  NEC  |  pilot project  |  Yahoo