In China, KFC tests out ‘smile to pay’

KFC is now testing out booths at a store in China where people pay with their face.

GIF by Tech in Asia. From video by Ant Financial.

First you browse KFC’s selection on the screen, tap your choices…

GIF by Tech in Asia. From video by Ant Financial.

And then look up to seal the deal.

GIF by Tech in Asia. From video by Ant Financial.

The facial recognition ties into a popular mobile wallet app called Alipay. Ant Financial, a spin-off from ecommerce giant Alibaba and maker of Alipay, created the tech for KFC. The firm describes it as “smile to pay.”

Photo credit: Ant Financial.

The scanning system focuses on your face, so it doesn’t matter if you change your makeup or hair – or even put on a pink wig.

GIF by Tech in Asia. From video by Ant Financial.

If you don’t want to get snapped, you can pay with your phone instead – by scanning a QR code at the booth using either Alipay or WeChat.

Chinese consumers already lead the world in paying with their phones, with 195 million people doing it in 2016. Alipay, WeChat, and Apple Pay are the three services with the most traction.

The face system was first shown off in March 2015 by Alibaba founder Jack Ma. Since then, it’s popped up here and there in small-scale testing. Rival tech giant Baidu ran a similar trial with KFC late last year using its own tech.

This face payment system from Alipay is, for now, only available in one KFC store: at the experimental healthy eating outlet KPro, in Hangzhou – which, probably not coincidentally, is where Alibaba is based.

I’m not sure matcha ice cream counts as healthy, but it sure does look good.

GIF by Tech in Asia. From video by Ant Financial.

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from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/kfc-china-tests-facial-recognition-payment
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