NEC Corporation and Stripe have announced a collaboration that could bring face recognition payments to physical retail environments, pairing NEC’s biometric technology with the Stripe Reader S700 payment terminal. The companies are showcasing the integration at the Singapore FinTech Festival, running from November 12 to 14, 2025.
The integration effort combines NEC’s high-accuracy facial authentication system with Stripe Terminal — a unified commerce solution that merges online and in-person payments under a single platform. According to the companies, the partnership aims to offer a secure, convenient, and entirely hands-free payment experience, improving both transaction speed and user satisfaction.
“Through this collaboration, Stripe is proud to support NEC’s world-renowned face recognition technology, enabling its use for payments through our unified commerce solution, Stripe Terminal,” said Daniel Heffernan, Product Lead of Stripe Japan. “By taking this step, we aim to enhance the shopping experience for consumers around the world.”
Kazuhisa Shimizu, Corporate Senior Vice President and Managing Director of NEC’s Financial Solutions Division, added that the customizable nature of Stripe Terminal would allow NEC to address a broad range of face-to-face payment challenges. “By combining NEC’s world-class face recognition technology with Stripe’s globally trusted payment platform, we aim to provide a new payment experience and create a world where everyone can safely, easily, and conveniently utilize digital technology,” he said.
Building on NEC’s Biometric Legacy
NEC’s face recognition system has repeatedly earned top marks in benchmark testing by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a distinction that underscores its reputation for speed and accuracy. Earlier this year, NEC’s algorithm achieved a world-leading accuracy rate of 99.88 percent in the latest NIST Face Recognition Vendor Test (NEC Face Recognition Tech Outperforms in Latest NIST Accuracy Tests). The company has also been expanding the privacy and security features of its biometric offerings, introducing new methods to generate cryptographic keys from facial data without storing actual image templates (NEC Debuts Privacy-Focused Facial Recognition That Stores No Actual Images).
The new collaboration with Stripe follows NEC’s recent partnership with Mastercard (Mastercard and NEC Expand Biometric Payments Across Asia Pacific Region), announced in March, which aimed to bring biometric checkout systems to retail environments across the Asia-Pacific region. Together, these developments point to a broader strategy by NEC to position itself as a key provider of biometric payment infrastructure in the emerging “face as ID” economy.
Stripe’s Expanding Role in Unified Commerce
Stripe, meanwhile, has been investing heavily in unifying digital and in-person transactions through its Stripe Terminal platform. The Wi‑Fi‑enabled S700 reader — compatible with both countertop and handheld use — features a touchscreen interface and supports real-time analytics through Stripe’s global payments network. With an estimated 1.4 trillion USD in annual payment volume, Stripe’s reach and infrastructure could accelerate adoption of biometric payment technologies worldwide.
If successful, the NEC–Stripe integration could represent a significant step toward mainstream acceptance of face-based payments, offering retailers a secure, frictionless alternative to cards and mobile wallets. It also marks a growing convergence between the fintech and biometrics sectors, as global payment providers look to authenticate transactions not just by what consumers have, but by who they are.
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By Ali Nassar-Smith
