NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – More and more Chinese cities are trialing use of facial recognition technology for transit ticketing, a development that could enable users to avoid either cards or smartphones to pay fares on subways and other modes of transit.
While the technology raises concerns about privacy and data security in both China and abroad–and there are reports that some Chinese consumers are uneasy about using the technology for payments–China appears to be moving full-speed ahead with facial recognition for a range of uses, including commercial applications, in addition to government surveillance. Among the commercial applications are both retail and transit payments.
More than 100 million Chinese have reportedlysigned up to use facial recognition for payments, including at more than 1,000 convenience stores, while a number of transit authorities are trialing the technology. Although early use of the technology by consumers so far has been less than enthusiastic, mobile payments started that way, as well, in China, and it now accounts for trillions of U.S. dollars in sales each year.
