Eftpos NZ launches biometric-ready terminals for future face and palm payments

Eftpos New Zealand has launched Verifone‘s Victa payment platform, bringing biometric-ready payment terminals to the local market ahead of the eventual rollout of face and palm authentication.

The terminal includes a 6.7-inch touchscreen, built-in cameras, a barcode scanner that can be activated through third-party applications, and a field-replaceable battery rated for up to 12 hours.

It accepts tap, chip, and swipe payments, along with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Zip, Alipay+, WeChat Pay, and other supported services.

Verifone Central provides merchants with real-time transaction reporting, while Verifone Navigator helps blind and low-vision customers complete transactions.

Victa can receive new capabilities through software updates. Compatible third-party applications could allow merchants to use the same device for point-of-sale (POS) software, loyalty programs, barcode scanning, digital receipts and on-device marketing.

Eftpos NZ plans to expand the range with Victa Mini for countertop use, Victa Lane for attended checkouts and Victa Register that combines payment acceptance with POS functions.

Verifone says the hardware is designed to support face and palm biometrics at the point of sale, although the supporting payment infrastructure has yet to be deployed in New Zealand.

Neither Eftpos NZ nor Verifone has said when biometric payments will become available, which banks or wallet providers will participate, or whether biometric matching will occur on the terminal itself or through cloud-based infrastructure.

In February 2025, Verifone partnered with PopID to develop face and palm authentication for its payment terminals. The company said the technology would also be part of the Victa portfolio.

Retail NZ CEO Carolyn Young said widespread adoption is likely to depend on a major retailer introducing biometric payments, much as contactless payments gained traction after large supermarket and retail deployments before accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She compared the potential rollout with contactless payments, which became more familiar after major retailers began accepting them and were later accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Any rollout would also need to comply with New Zealand’s Biometric Processing Privacy Code, which requires organizations to demonstrate that biometric processing is lawful, necessary, proportionate and supported by appropriate safeguards. Organizations must also explain why biometric data is being collected and whether consumers have a non-biometric alternative.

Those requirements mean the underlying biometric architecture may prove as important as the payment experience itself. Young said retailers will need greater clarity on where biometric templates are stored, how they are protected and how deployments will comply with guidance from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  biometric payments  |  Eftpos  |  face biometrics  |  New Zealand  |  palm biometrics  |  POS  |  Verifone