PopID, BigBear.ai bring face biometrics to US payments partners

A pair of partnerships in America bring face biometrics from PopID and BigBear.ai to point-of-sale devices, while implementations in South Korea and Japan bring similar technology to convenience store chains and a major international event, respectively.

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PopID, BigBear.ai integrated by POS-makers

Verifone and PopID have agreed to a global partnership that pairs biometrics with payments and loyalty transactions.

The partnership sees the creation of biometric modules consisting of biometric sensors and software to allow existing Verifone or third-party payment terminals to accept face and palm authentication. Verifone will embed biometric modules in its newest portfolio of payment terminals, Verifone Victa, as well.

“With millions of new and existing payment devices in the United States and globally, Verifone is key to driving global acceptance of biometric transactions,” John Miller, CEO of PopID, said. “Verifone’s decision to enter and lead the biometrics identity and payments race represents an important milestone in the growth and continued usage of biometrics.”

Verifone aims to enable biometric-authenticated commerce transactions using the industry’s existing payments infrastructure; building an open and interoperable biometric payments solution for consumer platforms, digital wallets, and merchants. Himanshu Patel, CEO of Verifone, said consumers will benefit from faster and more secure checkout with “seamless access” to loyalty programs.

“Our joint biometrics solution with PopID exemplifies Verifone’s commitment to reducing complexities in commerce while improving consumer experiences at physical or digital points of sale,” Patel said.

SoftPoint is enabling face biometrics across its network of established retail partners through SoftPointPay. SoftPointPay will integrate BigBear.ai’s Trueface, a biometric matching solution, that powers the verification process for the company’s point-of-sale platforms.

SoftPointPay says the integration of Trueface will “ensure” authentication accuracy; protecting against fraud, identity theft and unauthorized access. “BigBear.ai’s biometric technologies complement our payment solutions, enabling us to deliver unparalleled security and convenience to businesses and consumers worldwide,” said Christian Rivadalla, CEO of SoftPoint.

Major South Korean convenience store chains deploy Face Pay

Three major convenience store chains in South Korea — GS25, CU and Seven Eleven — are partnering with Viva Republica. The latter operates the fintech platform Toss which enables Face Pay. The face-biometric payment service with liveness detection will allow customers to pay using their face as long as they register their face and payment method in the Toss app.

Face Pay operates via dedicated terminals at store counters, allowing rapid transactions with high accuracy. If convenience store memberships are linked in advance through the Toss app, points accumulation will automatically occur. From March GS25 will start Face Pay operations at about 30 major stores. A test period for employees at locations such as GS Gangnam and DX Lab has already begun.

CU, operated by BGF Retail, will also have a preliminary test at a store near the BGF headquarters in Samseong-dong, Seoul. Following that, CU is expected to implement Face Pay at 30 major stores in the Gangnam area next month. Seven Eleven will select the first operating stores in the Seoul area.

After convenience stores, Toss plans to focus on expanding partnerships that can use Face Pay such as movie theaters and cafes.

NEC biometrics for Expo 2025 entry and payments

Osaka is to host its first world exposition in 55 years, with a theme of “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” The Expo will welcome approximately 160 participating countries.

NEC will have a significant role at the Expo, providing face biometric technology for visitor admissions and to enable hands-free payment at stores. With 1.2 million ticket holders, this will be NEC’s largest rollout of face biometrics in Japan, while the face biometric payment system will eliminate the need to use cash, a card or even a smartphone.

The head of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan Promotion Office also made a discovery about NEC. Atsushi Takahashi found that NEC exhibited at the The Japan World Exposition in Osaka in 1970 (EXPO ‘70), which had the theme of “Progress and Harmony for Mankind.” At EXPO ‘70 NEC exhibited a personality test using a computer modeled after a fortune teller’s magnifying glass at the Sumitomo Fairytale Pavilion. This could use photographs taken of visitors to analyze and classify the positions and contours of their eyes, nose, and mouth by matching them to historical figures with similar patterns.

A state-of-the-art technology at the time, this analysis method used in 1970 was the inspiration for today’s face recognition technology. Now, at this year’s Expo, NEC will face the pressure of handling the largest number of registered face recognition users it has ever dealt with.