NEC Corporation is testing out a biometric payment solution at its main office building in Tokyo.

It’s based on facial recognition, linking individuals’ faces to their payment information. In a trial project that started at the end of last month and is expected to run until the end of August, NEC employees are paying via face scan at small shops in the building of its head office in the city.

It could be part of a larger biometric payment effort to come, with NEC SVP Fumiaki Matsubara commenting that the trial project “will enable us to improve technological performance and to accumulate knowledge towards the commercialisation of facial authentication-based payment services, thereby helping NEC to enhance fintech services and ensure greater safety and security.”

While the company has been in the news lately more for thesecurity and law enforcement applications of its biometric technology, it has also demonstrated a growing interest in retail. And with other major companies like Safran also experimenting with biometric payment systems, it could prove to be a major FinTech area in the years to come.

Meanwhile, NEC is also trialling its Walkthrough Facial Recognition System, which is aimed at using facial recognition to passively authenticate individuals. That trial launched at its head office in April.  SOURCE