J.P. Morgan expands biometric payment trials with PopID

J.P. Morgan is expanding biometric payment pilots in retail spaces across the U.S. with its partner PopID. The financial giant has announced that it will provide payment processing to Texas-based fast food restaurant chain Whataburger, which is already using PopID’s facial biometrics checkout system.

J.P. Morgan has been on a mission to trial payments powered by biometrics fintech firm PopID ahead of a planned rollout in 2025. Among its first trials was the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix held in May.

The company plans to make the system available to all commercial spaces but its main target is quick-service restaurants, event venues, convenience and grocery stores in the U.S. It provides insights to merchants by combining transaction history through payment processors and marketing data.

“We offer something that is hard to match – the stability, scale and trust of a world-class bank combined with the technology and agility of a fintech,” says Jean-Marc Thienpont, the company’s managing director for omnichannel and biometric solutions.

Looking internationally

J.P. Morgan currently handles nearly $10 trillion in payments a day in over 160 countries. The company has been working on expanding cross-border transactions for e-commerce businesses, including commerce solutions such as purchasing with biometrics. According to its website, however, biometric payments are still under the “coming soon” status.

Businesses will have to strategize on how to provide a frictionless purchasing experience for customers while navigating local regulation which can be particularly complex in international e-commerce, according to Madhav Kalyan, APAC head of payments at J.P. Morgan.

“Businesses must optimize the payment process in each country they operate in, considering local regulations, payment preferences and infrastructure,” Kalyan said at the J.P. Morgan China Payments Innovation Summit in China held in May.

The company believes that its strength lies in partnerships with clients that are investing across various countries.

“We begin our business journey by providing tailored advisory services that align with their unique business scenarios, contributing to their strategic planning,” says Kalyan.

But first – overcoming barriers in the US

U.S. shoppers have been traditionally reluctant to embrace novelties in payments. A majority (73 percent) of US adults are not comfortable with solutions such as Amazon One hand-scan checkout at Whole Foods Market, according to a 2023 survey from market research firm Emarketer. Despite this, digital financial services advisor David G.W. Birch is bullish on the wider adoption of biometric payments.

“The more exposed consumers are to biometrics at POS, the more comfortable they will be with this technology. This coming year they will experience a whole bunch of new biometric payment options and I am sure that this will lead to much wider adoption,” Birch writes in a Medium post.

Trials from J.P. Morgan and PopID as well as those from Amazon at popular event locations will make biometric shopping experiences more common. Aside from familiarity, security and convenience play a role in drawing in customers. Aside from allowing customers to use loyalty programs its biometric payment platform has been speeding up transactions, according to PopID, a subsidiary of Cali Group. The company’s numbers show that ordering and checkout times have decreased by up to 90 seconds per transaction.

Biometric payment providers, however, will need to get their messaging on security right, adds Birch.

“It seems to me that the way to deal with consumer concerns is to be entirely transparent about how the relevant templates and other data are collected, stored and used. This openness is crucial to scale use of the technology,” he says.

Article Topics

biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  contactless biometrics  |  David Birch  |  face biometrics  |  JPMorgan  |  PopID  |  retail biometrics  |  United States