Shinhan Card Launches Face-Based Naked Payments Scheme

South Korea’s Shinhan Card is moving beyond physical payment cards with a new naked payments scheme. The Shinhan Face Pay system will allow users to make purchases with a facial recognition scan instead of a more traditional payment card.   

To use the new system, a customer will first need to register their facial biometrics at a Shinhan Bank branch location. After that, they will be able to take a selfie at an in-store kiosk to verify their identity and complete a transaction. Their facial biometrics will be linked to their credit card information as part of the registration process.

The Shinhan Face Pay system debuted at Seoul’s Hanyang University and at CU convenience stores on campus, and reflects the growing interest in naked payment systems. Alipay’s Smile to Pay system has already been deployed at KFC locations throughout China, and SnapPay is currently working to popularize face-based payments in North America. Amazon has also been considering a naked payments system for Whole Foods stores, although the tech giant has reportedly opted for palm recognition instead of face recognition.

This is not Shinhan’s first foray into the world of naked payments. The company has previously backed a naked payments scheme that leveraged finger vein recognition.

Source: The Korea Herald

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April 13, 2020 – by Eric Weiss