South Korean fintech company Toss and cinema operator CJ CGV have agreed to introduce facial-recognition payments at movie-theater kiosks, extending Toss’s FacePay service into ticket sales and concessions.
The companies plan to begin at CGV Yongsan I Park Mall in Seoul before progressively expanding to theaters across the country. Their agreement covers the integration of FacePay with CGV’s existing self-service payment equipment, rather than requiring customers to use a separate payment counter.
Toss Front cameras will be mounted on the cinema operator’s kiosks and connected to their payment systems. Enrolled customers will be able to buy movie tickets and concession items using facial recognition without presenting a payment card, cash or a smartphone at checkout.
Representatives of Toss and CGV signed the cooperation agreement in Seoul on September 18. The companies describe the arrangement as an expansion of FacePay from everyday retail and food purchases into cultural and leisure venues. They also plan customer promotions after the service launches.
FacePay links a customer’s face to a registered payment method. The service’s earlier convenience-store rollout required users to enroll their facial information and a card or bank account through the Toss application before using a dedicated terminal in a participating store.
That retail program included GS25, CU and 7-Eleven, with initial implementations centered on Seoul. Viva Republica, the company behind Toss, described liveness checks and transaction monitoring as part of its security controls. Liveness technology is intended to distinguish a person at the camera from an image or recording presented in their place.
By January, Toss’s FacePay service had reached one million users and 240,000 merchant locations. Toss reported those figures in January as it pursued a larger national network for face-based retail transactions across South Korea.
The cinema integration brings facial authentication into two separate customer transactions: purchasing admission and paying for food or drinks. Both would use the same kiosk-based approach, with the camera added to equipment that already handles the transaction.
CGV Yongsan I Park Mall will serve as the starting location for the planned introduction. The partners will then extend the service to additional theaters as they connect the facial-payment equipment to CGV’s kiosk infrastructure.
Sources: MoneyToday
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
