More than nine in 10 consumers (93%) will consider using digital payment methods including contactless, QR code and biometric payments as well as cryptocurrency transactions in the next year, according to a Mastercard survey... More
Biometrics
Facebook relaunches WhatsApp peer to peer payments in Brazil
WhatsApp users in Brazil can now send money to friends, family and other contacts by attaching a payment to a chat “just as you would attach a photo or video” and validating the transfer with a PIN or their device’s biometrics functionality... More
Aion Bank onboards personal and business customers via NFC
Consumers, retailers and other business customers can now remotely verify their identity when opening an account or applying for a loan with Belgium-based Aion Bank by scanning the contactless chip embedded in an ID document with their NFC smartphone or other mobile device and validating the information via a facial recognition check... More
Russian retail giant adds biometric payments to let customers ‘pay with a glance’
Customers at superstores, supermarkets and convenience and cosmetics stores owned by Russian retail group Magnit can now authenticate contactless payments at self-checkout devices using pay-with-a-glance technology... More
Crédit Agricole issues biometric payment cards in France
Customers of Crédit Agricole can now use their fingerprint to authenticate contactless payments made with a biometric deferred debit card issued by the French bank... More
Amazon expands pay by palm technology to Whole Foods Market store
Customers at a Whole Foods Market store in Seattle in the USA can now gain access to the supermarket and pay for their purchases using Amazon’s contactless palm scanning device... More
UK retailers explore facial analysis technology for customer age verification
Supermarkets, convenience stores and other retailers in the UK could soon begin trialling facial analysis technology that enables them to verify a customer’s age when purchasing alcohol at self-checkouts without requiring a staff member to check their ID... More
Apple seeks NFC digital identity patent
Apple has applied for a patent for a user authentication framework that would allow users to store digital identity documents such as their passport, driving licence and national ID card and present them for verification on their NFC-enabled iPhone or other mobile device... More
Forecast: 1.4bn consumers will be using face recognition to authenticate payments by 2025
The number of consumers using software-based facial recognition to authenticate payments worldwide will reach 1.4 billion by 2025, up from 671 million in 2020, according to a forecast by Juniper Research... More
US Army looks to replace plastic ID cards with biometric authentication
The US Army is aiming to introduce a biometric identification and access control system at military facilities to replace its current smartcard-based Common Access Card (CAC) and reduce the risk of transmitting Covid-19 through the handling of physical cards... More
Disney pilots face recognition for entry to Magic Kingdom theme park
Visitors to the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida can now test a contactless biometric system that enables them to gain entry to the attraction by verifying their identity with their face... More
Apple to use iris biometrics for virtual reality payments?
Apple may incorporate iris scanning functionality in a forthcoming head-mounted display (HMD) mixed-reality headset that will enable users to authenticate their identity when using Apple Pay to make payments via the “mostly virtual reality device”, according to MacRumors... More
Abu Dhabi theme parks roll out face recognition for access and payments
Visitors to Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island can now use their face to gain access to the resort island’s Ferrari World, Yas Waterworld and Warner Bros World theme parks and to make contactless payments at retail and dining outlets that support its face recognition technology... More
OCBC Bank adds facial recognition at ATMs in Singapore
Customers of OCBC Bank in Singapore can now make account balance enquiries at eight of the bank’s ATMs by verifying their identity using facial recognition technology... More
Mercedes rolls out contactless in-vehicle fuel payments in Germany
Mercedes drivers in Germany can now make contactless in-car payments for fuel directly from their Mercedes me app or via their vehicle’s infotainment system using the luxury car maker’s new Fuel & Pay digital payments service... More
Russian supermarkets let customers make contactless payments ‘with a glance’
Customers at more than 50 branches of Russian food retail group X5’s Perekrestok supermarkets can now pay for their purchases at self-checkout devices “with a glance” using a biometric payments solution that uses 3D face recognition technology... More
Care home pilots biometric digital health passport
Staff at the Warren Manor care facility in Blackpool in the UK are piloting a digital passport that enables them to verify their Covid-19 vaccination, test or recovery status when they arrive at their workplace by scanning their finger... More
Amazon opens its first cashierless store outside US in London
Amazon has opened its first cashierless grocery store outside the US on London’s Ealing Broadway, enabling consumers to access the store and pay for their purchases by downloading a QR code to their mobile device and scanning it at the shop entrance... More
Moscow Metro to pilot face biometrics for transit ticketing payments
Moscow Metro is to test a contactless ticketing system that enables passengers to pay their fares using facial recognition payment technology to verify their identity... More
UBS forecasts widespread adoption of biometric payment cards
Biometric payment cards containing a built-in fingerprint sensor could generate more than US$5bn in global banking revenue and account for 15% of the market by 2026, according to a forecast by analysts at Swiss bank UBS... More