Japanese tech company Glory piloted a contactless payment system called BioPay, which detects customers’ faces even while they are wearing masks.
For BioPay to work, users need to register their faces and credit card information on Glory’s website. Upon registration, users may scan their faces in front of a tablet to complete their purchase, without removing their face mask.
BioPay has been installed in 10 stores and restaurants in Niigata, in what the company aims to turn into a “hands-free shopping street.” Glory says this is the first of its kind in Japan. The pilot program will run until February 2023.
Niigata Mayor Yaichi Nakahara was one of the first to try out the system at a cafe in the Sea of Japan coast city.
Mayor Nakahara said: “[The transaction] was much faster than I’d imagined. I would like people to experience the convenience of advanced technology through everyday services.”
Glory is taking advantage of a subsidy offered by Niigata for tech trial programs like this one. The company and local authorities aim to encourage businesses to go digital in order to make transactions smoother and more efficient.
Established in 1918, Glory originally specialized in light bulb manufacturing equipment repair. Currently, the company’s cash handling machines and payment services are available in banks and retailers in over 100 countries.
Tests of BioPay facial recognition payments have been launched at places like Kindai University in Osaka. The plan is to spur wider adoption of the platform by having people experience it first hand.
Niigata and Glory look to field completely unstaffed stores, replete with a system for monitoring customers entering and exiting the establishments. In the hope of generating interest in this nouvelle payment system, participating stores are offering gifts to BioPay users on a first-come-first-served basis.
