Japan-based Liquid, Inc. is getting ready for a full-scale launch of its pioneering naked payments system, officially dubbed “Touch & Pay”.
The system is designed to let consumers link their payment account information directly to their fingerprints, allowing them make purchases just by tapping their fingers, with no need for physical payment cards or even a mobile device. Liquid, Inc. says it has already conducted trials of Touch & Pay at over 200 tourist accommodations and points of interest, and that a “full-scale introduction” will begin this month, according to a statement from the company.
The system’s development was undertaken with government support. Liquid, Inc. said it’s part of “infrastructure improvement projects to create new business for IoT promotion” program spearheaded by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; previous reports indicated that government authorities were looking to develop such a system ahead of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, when visitors will be eligible to link not only their payment information but also passport information as they check into hotels and go about their shopping in the country’s tourist areas. For its part, however, Liquid, Inc. appears intent on shopping the system to new markets, having teamed with Indonesian conglomerate Salim Group to bring it to shops in that country earlier this year.
In Japan, Liquid, Inc. plans to attract users with prizes of “up to 1 million yen’s worth of points” for registrants, and the company says that the full-scale launch of the system starting this month will expand “nationwide for social implementation in 2020.”
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October 4, 2017 – by Alex Perala
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