Facial payment systems develop apace in China

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By 2017, facial recognition was developing quickly in China and was beginning to become embedded in payment and other systems. The Chinese startup Face++, valued at roughly $1 billion, supplies facial recognition software to Alipay, a mobile payment app used by more than 120 million people; the dominant Chinese ride-hailing service, Didi; and several other popular apps. The Chinese search engine Baidu is working with the government of popular tourist destination Wuzhen to enable visitors to access many of its attractions without a ticket, just a facial image. People are attracted to the technology because of its convenience; in some coffee shops the staff welcome customers by name when the system alerts them. 

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603494/10-breakthrough-technologies-2017-paying-with-your-face/

Writer: Will Knight
Publication: Technology Review
Publication date: March/April 2017