Revolut launches ‘Pay with Smile’ facial recognition checkout system in London
Revolut is trialling a futuristic new way to pay in London, allowing customers to complete purchases using facial recognition and a simple glance.
Forget digging out your phone or bank card – Revolut has unveiled a futuristic new way to pay with a simple glance.
The financial technology firm is piloting its new Pay with Smile facial recognition checkout system in London, allowing customers to authorise in-store purchases using their face.
The technology is being introduced through Revolut Register, the company’s payment terminal for merchants, and will initially be tested at three Kiss the Hippo coffee shops in Bloomsbury, Chelsea and Soho from September 24 to 26.
Customers using the system will tap Pay with Smile on the checkout screen before completing a facial identity check – in much the same way as using facial recognition to unlock a smartphone or access a banking app.
The system checks the customer’s face against identity verification completed when they signed up to Revolut. If the match is successful, the customer’s account-to-account payment is authorised.
But shoppers won’t automatically be enrolled in the futuristic payment system.
Customers must actively switch on Revolut Pay with Smile in their Revolut app settings, with the company stressing that consent can be withdrawn at any time.
Revolut also said facial recognition data is encrypted end-to-end, while merchants will not store customers’ personal data.
The company is offering 0% processing fees on Pay with Smile transactions, saying the move could help independent businesses cut the costs associated with taking payments.
Revolut Register terminals will also be available for merchants to purchase from September 24.
Alex Codina, general manager of merchant payments at Revolut Business, said the technology would replace “outdated, fragmented tills” with a more efficient checkout experience.
Kiss the Hippo managing director Alex Damgaci said customers would be able to try the system at its three participating London cafés before the technology is rolled out across all 12 of its locations later this year.
For now, the trial gives London shoppers a glimpse of a checkout where the days of tapping cards – or even reaching for a phone – could be replaced by simply paying with a smile.