(By Mairo Danlami)
Bank cards are already being replaced by phones and wristbands that have payment technology built-in but the latest threat to the lowly plastic in your pocket could be your face.
A Finnish startup called Uniqul has launched what it calls the first ever payment platform based on facial recognition.
The system doesn’t require a wallet, bank card or phone – instead a camera is positioned at the checkout and takes a photo of a shopper’s face when they are ready to pay.
It then scans a database for the face and matches it to stored payment details in order to complete the transaction.
The catch, of course, is that Uniqul has to store your credit-card information.
Uniqul comes with various fee structures, and lets users pay with PayPal or with regular credit cards. The payment plans are divided by distance. The first level reportedly costs a little more that $1 per month, and extends to a 0.6 to 1.2 mile (1 to 2 kilometer) radius from a point the user chooses. The second level costs a little over $9 per month, and covers a wider area. The levels depend on the number of terminals in the area, and the wider the area, the higher the prices. The service is expected to launch in the Helsinki area soon.
If facial recognition isn’t up your alley, however, there’s always fingerprint recognition.
