Alibaba announces the Smile to Pay service, using facial recognition technology
Alibaba has been showcasing some new technologies recently, including facial recognition technology that could change the way people pay for things. The company has announced a new service, called Smile to Pay, which is currently in a beta testing phase. Alibaba CEO Jack Ma showed off the new service during a recent event, which highlighted the way the service could be used to authorize mobile payments. The service could help add more security to the mobile commerce space, if it proves capable enough.
Mobile commerce is growing quickly
Jack Ma notes that mobile payments are becoming a more important aspect of commerce. A growing number of consumers are beginning to use their mobile devices to shop for and purchase products that they like, but some payment solutions are somewhat inconvenient to use, especially if people forget their passwords often. Using Smile to Pay, consumers can use their own face to authorize a mobile transaction without have to provide additional information. The service will be made available for the Alipay application in the future.
Security continues to be a concern for those involves in the mobile commerce space
Security has long been a concern for those that are involved in the mobile payments space. Because this sector involves the trafficking of financial information, it has become an attractive target for malicious groups that would exploit this information. The mobile commerce sector is relatively young and has had little time to become resilient against malicious attacks, but biometric technology and face recognition are becoming more popular as ways to thwart potential attacks.
Companies are swarming the mobile commerce space to find gain
A recent report from Juniper Research predicts that mobile payments will reach $4.7 trillion by 2019, up from the $2.5 trillion that was reported last year. Several companies are attempting to break into the mobile commerce space in order to take advantage of this aggressive growth, but few have yet found mainstream success. Platforms that offer a secure and convenient experience have proven to be the most popular thus far.
