QNB to launch biometric payment solution

Qatar National Bank (QNB) Group has launched biometric payment services using technology from U.S. company PopID and Visa. The service, which is the first of its kind in Qatar, will be offered to local merchants and uses PopID’s proprietary facial recognition software and Visa’s tokenization technology.

To use the service, customers will register their face through a selfie, which PopID’s algorithm will then turn into code. After the onboarding process is complete, the Visa app will tokenize the customer’s account number and link it to their facial template. Future transactions will then be authenticated through QNB’s mobile app. The service was tested at cafes during the recent FIFA World Cup, and the bank claims that onboarding takes only a minute or two.

This new service is in addition to a range of other payment options offered by QNB, including contactless payments, QNB MyPOS, and Samsung/Google/Apple pay. PopID CEO John Miller stated that in America and Japan, the company has seen that allowing customers to link their loyalty accounts and payment methods to the service results in faster ordering and checkout, increased customer engagement, and reduced fraud.

This deployment comes shortly after PopID integrated its mobile app, PopPay, with XPR’s POS software on Samsung’s Windows 10 IoT enterprise kiosk. The software will be used to verify faces at check-in and check-out.