"Payment with Face Only"…Shinhan Card, First Commercialization of FacePay in Korea

Payment with Face Only, No Card or Phone Needed
Available at Hanyang University Campus Cafeterias and CU Convenience Stores

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Shinhan Card announced on the 9th that it will commercialize the country's first facial recognition payment service, 'Shinhan FacePay,' at Hanyang University Seoul Campus. Through FacePay, Korea will also participate in the facial recognition market led by countries such as China.

Shinhan Card installed FacePay registration infrastructure at the Shinhan Bank Hanyang University branch and Hanyang Women's University sub-branch within Hanyang University, and established payment systems at 16 locations centered around university areas, including campus cafeterias and CU convenience stores.

FacePay is a method where users register their card and facial information once at a bank that supports facial registration, and then make payments at FacePay affiliated stores using only facial recognition. In this process, facial feature points are extracted as digital information and facial recognition technology is utilized to verify identity through artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms.

Shinhan FacePay was recognized for its innovation in services, including AI algorithms for facial recognition and various encryption and decryption technologies to protect biometric information, and was designated as an 'Innovative Financial Service' by the Financial Services Commission in October last year. After showcasing FacePay at the 'Korea Fintech Week 2019' event hosted by the Financial Services Commission last year, Shinhan Card began pilot service operations for its employees from August.

Shinhan Card plans to lead the facial recognition payment market by improving technology such as payment infrastructure enhancement and expanding the usage of Shinhan FacePay. It also intends to continuously expand cooperation with distribution companies to lead changes in the new payment environment.

Yoo Tae-hyun, Head of Shinhan Card's Digital First Division, said, "Facial recognition payment is the final destination of payment innovation," adding, "We will strengthen the convenience and security of FacePay payments to provide new value to customers and promote it to become the standard for future payments."