Finnish firm to trial facial recognition for payments
Finnish firm to trial facial recognition payments
12/11/14
Finnish tech firm Uniqul plans to launch a pilot of a facial
recognition-based payments system at cafes in early 2015.
Uniqul’s payment system, which recognises customers based
on their geometric facial proportions, has been in development for about two
years. The pilot will be launched in the country’s capital region, which
includes the cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen.
CEO Oscar Tuutti told Planet Biometrics that the system
starts verifying customers from up to four metres away. By the time they have
reached a checkout, the final verification process only takes around "half
a second".
The facial recognition feature can be incorporated into
current cash register systems, with Uniqul supplying tablets and webcams to
retailers.
While the pilot will use a PIN system as a back-up, Tuuti
said he firm plans to “dial down” its usage – and that this process would be
assisted by incoming machine learning capabilities.
Referring to the three building blocks of innovative
payments technologies – speed, convenience and security, Tuuti said that NFC
payment systems such as contactless are sacrificing the former for the latter.
“Biometrics offer a new level of security, and Uniqul’s
facial recognition system also has better convenience and speed levels than
some rivals. There is no concern over forgetting card, PINs or passwords”.
The Uniqul enrols users at sale locations, with biometric
data stored in secure clouds that are compliant with EU data protection rules,
he added.
In September, Mastercard said it had completed a
"successful" voice and facial recognition payments trial. In the same
month, academics at China’s Chongqing Institute of Green said they had
developed a facial recognition payment application with “near-perfect
accuracy”.
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