Mobile payments test being run by PayPal using facial verification

paypal venmo mobile payments

The test of the technology is being run in the United Kingdom for items bought using the app.

PayPal has just revealed that it is now rolling out a new mobile payments trial that will begin with customers in the United Kingdom who pay for products through the use of the PayPal app.

The trial will involve testing verification technology that uses facial recognition over a smartphone.

The mobile payments trial requires a customer to have the PayPal app, a photo for proving their identity, and a smartphone. At the moment, there are 12 different merchants participating in the trial, having created their own accounts to be able to accept the transactions. The application is currently available to users of both iOS and Android devices, as well as Windows Phone.

The mobile payments app highlights nearby participating merchants on the screen of their smartphones.

Furthermore, the PayPal mobile payments app allows these users to “check in” to one of those merchants, simply by tapping its name. At that point, they can simply pay for an item by sliding an animated pin in a downward direction on the touchscreen of the device. At that point, the photo and name of the individual appears on the store’s system. Once the customer has given his or her permission to make the purchase, the cashier clicks on the photo of the person to complete the transaction.

At that point, the customer’s phone is sent an alert that informs them that the mobile payments have been made, and provides the typical type of PayPal receipt that includes the amount that was paid.

At the moment, the merchants who are participating in the mobile payments trial from PayPal include Pier 1 Fish and Chips, Revolution, The Tea Box, Knot Coffee and Pretzel, The Farmery, Cook & Garcia, Caffé Paolo, The Bingham Hotel, Urban Diner, Noble Jones, The Cedar Coffee Shop, and Hill Café.

According to the owner of Cook & Garcia, Richard Garcia, who released a statement about participation in this mobile payments trial, “We’ve been using PayPal’s check-in service within the business for several months, and have found it really efficient.”

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