Even in the midst of 2020, biometric identification and artificial intelligence (AI) may sound like science fiction, despite being implemented in many everyday aspects of our lives as ATMs or mobile phones.

These devices can sample the faces or fingerprints of their users and, through dedicated algorithms, create a virtual map of their most characteristic features. In this way, they allow the development of fast and secure forms of identification with the advantage of avoiding physical contact with other objects. In the current COVID-19 crisis, such technologies are increasingly in demand. The aim is to make the transition to contactless environments for shopping.

Even so, today the means of payment sector has a long way to go. Although different types of biometric identification have already been applied in Point of Sale -fingerprints, voice recognition, facial patterns or eye recognition-, their presence in the sector is practically residual. In addition, there are numerous challenges when it comes to implementation: regardless of its development, we are talking about the implications at a legislative level in terms of data protection and integration within the databases of commercial establishments.

Nowadays, an indispensable part of the use of this type of technology are the tokens, mobile phones, cards or other devices, which act as a bridge between the user and the means of payment. tokens mobile phones, cards or other devices, which act as a bridge between the user and the means of payment. Beyond offering a new layer of security, the aforementioned artificial intelligence of mobile terminals is the real backbone of the future of means of payment.

These have the necessary algorithms to allow the identification of the user through his face, as it can be in the case of Apple devices with Face IDThe system is already widely used in the telephone market. However, the real challenge for the future would be to incorporate this type of technology directly into the means of collection itself.

In our country, there are already several pilot tests of payment methods using mechanisms, such as facial recognition, to avoid the need to use a card or mobile phone directly to pay.

An example of these tests is right here in Madrid: a British startup, Saffe, and MasterCard launched last year a pilot project for biometric payment on EMT buses. This pioneering idea proposes a facial biometric payment system, so that, after registering in an app, a camera installed in the bus will recognize facial features at the time of payment and will charge the amount of the trip directly to the bank account.

Without leaving the capital of Spain, in the BBVA City, a complex of seven buildings that houses the new headquarters of the bank, we can find other examples of this type of technology thanks to SeeA biometrics startup created jointly by BBVA and Das-Nano. Within these facilities, more than 1,000 employees already use an application to automate payments and have begun testing a biometric facial recognition system.

These are just a couple of examples of the enormous possibilities of biometric identification systems, given that there are countless cases such as those promoted by Amazon in its North American stores for payment through the palm of the hand.

Through a similar system by registering our data in a web page or application, it would only be necessary to implement a compatible device for facial recognition or other biometric data. The purchase process could continue to be carried out by an employee of the establishment and even the identification of objects purchased in a basket through aContactless system by the customer himself.

Without a doubt, this is a technology with great potential for the future. In Intelligent Data, thanks to our know-how of more than 25 years of experience in the sector, we are perfectly prepared for the development of payment systems adapted to this type of biometric technology.

An example of our experience within the fields of biometrics is one of our products for the defence area, the ID Key. A patented biometric microcomputer with fingerprint reader and Linux operating system.