NEC, SoftBank launch face biometrics payments pilot in Tokyo

Being able to pay just with your face is steadily becoming mainstream reality. In Japan, NEC and SoftBank Payment Service (SBPS) have teamed up to launch a face biometrics payment system, testing whether customers can authenticate purchases simply by looking at a camera.

The pilot began September 1 at Cafe Shiba, the employee cafeteria inside SoftBank’s Takeshiba headquarters. The proof-of-concept (PoC) trial runs until November 30 and will process more than 1,000 transactions to test usability and reliability.

The system connects NEC’s Bio‑IDiom technology with SBPS’s PayCAS platform. Users  register facial data and credit card details in advance to use the service.

At checkout, they simply look at the scanner — no card, no phone is required. NEC says the system cuts lines, reduces cashier workload and delivers a faster, contactless experience.

The project builds on a 2024 partnership between NEC and SoftBank to expand biometric authentication. Softbank integrated NEC’s multimodal biometric authentication Bio-IDiom with its range of communication networks and security services. Softbank also joined NEC’s co-creation partner program for digital ID, part of the latter’s BluSteller initiative.

The current pilot supports only credit card payments, but the companies say they are exploring support for e-money, payroll deduction and other services. They also see potential applications in office access control and system logins. Other potential uses include office access control, system log-ins and other customer services.

NEC and SBPS say the goal is a secure, convenient cashless society. NEC stresses privacy and human rights will remain central as biometric services scale.

Article Topics

biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  contactless biometrics  |  face biometrics  |  Japan  |  NEC  |  Softbank