Uniqul of Finland has developed a payment system that relies on facial biometrics. To use the system, however, consumers must pay a monthly subscription fee.
The company reportedly is preparing for a system deployment in Helsinki.
From Huffington Post:
In Uniqul’s imagined future, faces will act like credit cards. At the checkout counter, you’ll give a “meaningful nod” to the scanner, which will use your biometric information to determine who you are and then deduct money from your account (by hitting OK on Uniqul’s tablet).
Uniqul has produced a YouTube video that shows the convenience of being able to pay just by nodding one’s head at participating merchants. But what the video doesn’t explain is how the company intends to overcome the “Big Brother” concerns such technologies create. On top of that, Uniqul plans to charge consumers for the “convenience” of shopping by face.
According to its website, the monthly fee to use the system at participating shops near home or work, or within a one- to two-kilometer radius, would be 99 euro cents. At 1.99 euros, the next level would cover an entire specified city. Up another level would cost 2.99 euros monthly to cover a city and nearby suburbs, while the broadest level at 6.99 euros per month would provide worldwide coverage. It’s unlikely Uniqul will find sufficient interest at that cost, so expect pricing policies to evolve as the company tries to survive.
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