In South Korea, facial recognition use cases outside finance drive adoption

More of South Korea’s businesses are adopting facial recognition for security and convenience. From bank ATMs with facial recognition to face-based ticketing, South Korea has been an eager adopter of biometric tech across sectors – so much so that the government is looking to introduce a legally binding regulatory framework for biometric data, to ensure privacy regulations keep up with use in daily life.

The Korea Herald reports that Viva Republica, operator of the mobile finance platform Toss, is partnering with online ticketing platform Interpark Triple and K-pop company Hybe to roll out its Face Pass facial recognition service this month at boyband TWS’ fan meeting.

Large firms Naver and Shinhan Bank have also embraced facial recognition, but the Herald says “scaling the technology has been challenging due to privacy concerns over biometric data and hurdles in technology deployment.” An official from Naver Technology cites cost efficiency and usability as main issues.

In establishing its face biometrics systems outside the financial sector, Viva Republica hopes to set itself up for a successful eventual entrance. Payments is the ultimate prize, and Toss’ payments subsidiary, Toss Place, has developed Toss Front, a facial recognition based terminal that has already been deployed at 85,000 locations.

But Via Republica is also looking at easing integration of FRT. “Since upgrading to new terminals can be costly for small businesses,” the official says, “we’re working on enabling facial payments using existing devices by integrating external cameras.”

KakaoBank, an online lender, is also planning to introduce a facial recognition-based mobile identification service this year, and KB Kookmin Bank has partnered with Incheon Airport for its Smart Pass facial recognition service. Toss and three other major banks are set to follow later this year.

Viva Republica, meanwhile, says that use cases outside of finance will help drive adoption of facial recognition tools. “People are increasingly embracing it outside the financial sector. Once they experience the convenience and security, we expect adoption for payments will follow sooner than anticipated.”