Personally I have just recently gotten on the Apple Pay train, and it has made my checking out process at retail store and elsewhere so much easier. What if there were emerging technology that would allow you to leave your phone behind, and pay for your groceries with you face? New technology using NEC face recognition will allow you to do just that. I want to learn about emerging tech in the financial world and I believe this could provide great insight into where innovation is happening.
In partnership with a renowned payments technology company, the newly launched solution is powered by NEC’s face recognition, which has been ranked, time and time again, as the world’s most accurate face recognition technology in vendor tests conducted by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It has also clinched the top spot in 2020 and 2022’s Frost and Sullivan Radar for Biometrics.
What this means for customers is that they can now conveniently enroll into the biometric checkout services, in store or at home, through a simple app, and thereafter use their faces or fingerprints to pay for purchases at any participating merchant. It’s basically the same technology used for unlocking your smartphones using your face or fingerprint – proven to be much more secure and less prone to hacking and identity theft.
“With biometrics checkout, besides the added convenience and security that customers enjoy, there are multiple benefits for the merchants. Customers no longer need to fumble for their wallets or phones, which means that they would take shorter times at the checkout and shorten the queues. What’s more, their biometric identities can be securely linked to loyalty programs and personalized recommendations to help consumers find products they might be interested in based on previous purchases.
“A recent survey of nearly 100 shoppers who set up and enrolled in the Brazil-based pilot showed that 90% were comfortable doing so, and 76% would strongly recommend biometric payments to a friend.”
With new technology there always have to be safeguards in place and I believe that NEC has safe use practices in the forefront of their model. ”With the 2019 “NEC Group AI and Human Rights Principles”, NEC declares its commitment to the ethical implementation and responsible use of AI, the privacy of users, and the elimination of algorithmic biases and prejudices (such as wrongly identifying certain racial groups as less creditworthy). Internally, NEC incorporates respect for human rights and identity security into every stage of product development — from initial R&D to planning and deployment.
This means that end users of NEC’s face recognition technology are assured that their identities are protected against theft and not misused by third parties, while giving them the autonomy of how much information they would like to share.
In the next few years, the world can expect a biometric revolution in safety and security in online payments, contactless checkouts, and more convenient banking. It’s an exciting space to watch, and NEC will be at the forefront of this transformation (Going cashless. and cardless).
NEC is at the forefront of innovation with their biometric technologies, and I believe that there is something to learn from their innovation. With this technology it will allow customers to have retail experiences that can be as smooth as possible, and you won’t have to worry if you forget your wallet or phone behind. They also seem to care a great deal about security which is of utmost importance when dealing with customers personal finances. Although the customer is benefitting from this innovation you can see that they believe it will also assist the business. Getting more people through queues and buying more products is the top priority of business owners. So I believe this innovation does a great job in keeping both the customer and the business in the forefront of their mind when unveiling this product (Going cashless. and cardless). Seeing as how the biometric technology makes processes seamless for both parties, how can design use this innovation to create seamless innovations that support both the customer and the businesses?
Source
Going cashless. and cardless. NEC. (n.d.). https://www.nec.com/en/global/insights/article/going-cashless-and-cardless-face-payment-revolution/index.html
