BBVA has launched the deployment of a facial recognition payment system.
Last year, BBVA said it was in the process of developing payment methods based on biometric technologies, in order to make checkout at stores ‘invisible’.
The newly deployed system is currently being offered to thousands of employees at BBVA’s headquarters in Madrid. It uses the facial recognition system developed by Veridas, a joint venture between BBVA and Das-Nano.
Das-Nano specialises in developing software to digitally verify and authenticate one’s personal identity through facial, voice, image, document or fingerprint recognition. In this case, the system uses machine learning algorithms through which the machines ‘learn’ to identify both the faces of users and products on the tray in order to make the correct charge on their card.
Customers in the bank’s restaurants simply have to smile at a camera booth next to the cash registers, and provided they have registered, the system identifies them and automatically bills the customer for the purchase.
In the bank’s cafes, colleagues can also use the Selfie & Go app to order their drinks ahead, with the system automatically charging the customer when they collect.
With around 7,000 employees, and more than six points of sale in different formats (restaurants, cafeterias, etc.), Ciudad BBVA represents an ideal test platform for exploring new forms of payment.
Guillermo Sanchez, who heads the project for BBVA’s Global Payments team, said: “It’s a fantastic solution that has customer experience at its very core. It’s fast, secure, and will fundamentally change the ways people pay for good and services – literally taking things at face value.”
At the moment the system is only being used to take payments for pre-set meals and drinks; however, BBVA says the next iteration should allow the system to actively scan the customers tray and to bill them for what is on it.
The bank is also working on solutions for other retailers that link RFID tags into the system, so customers can choose what they want within a store, and then as they engage with the camera to pay, the value of the goods chosen is calculated and the payment made.
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
