Face recognition payment website:
https://mart.yahoo.co.jp/promotion/facepay.html
Video of face recognition payment:
https://youtu.be/KguI1BzEuS4
Yahoo Japan Corporation (hereinafter “Yahoo! JAPAN”) is pleased to announce that Yahoo! JAPAN Mart by ASKUL (hereinafter “Yahoo! JAPAN Mart”), a quick commerce store that delivers groceries and everyday items in as little as 15 minutes, will introduce a self-service POS cash register that supports face recognition payments using “PayPay” at its brick-and-mortar Yoyogi Uehara store.
The environment surrounding retail and distribution has been and continues to change due to labor shortages caused by the falling birthrate and an aging population, as well as COVID-19. This requires businesses to flexibly respond to the diversifying needs of users and forms of wholesale and retail.
Against this backdrop, Yahoo! JAPAN launched Yahoo! JAPAN Mart in July 2021*1—a quick commerce service that allows customers to pick up products in as little as 15 minutes—in collaboration with ASKUL and Demae-can, both members of the Z Holdings Group. Furthermore, in addition to its quick commerce business, Yahoo! JAPAN Mart is taking various initiatives to lead the retail industry in promoting DX, such as launching a brick-and-mortar store in Yoyogi Uehara in August 2022, where customers can visit and enjoy a more convenient shopping experience.
To further improve user convenience, Yahoo! JAPAN will introduce a self-service POS cash register that supports face recognition payments*3 using “PayPay” at Yahoo’ JAPAN Mart’s Yoyogi Uehara store.
First, users must register their own face image to their Yahoo! JAPAN ID linked to their PayPay account via a dedicated website*4 and pre-register for the experiment. After arriving at the Yoyogi Uehara store, users scan the barcodes of the products they wish to buy at the self-service POS cash register, select “Face Recognition Payment,” and show their face to the scanner. Once the face is successfully recognized, the register completes payment using PayPay Balance*5.
This technology will enable users to shop quickly without having to bring items such as their phones or wallets.
The main feature of this face recognition payment system is that by registering a face image to a Yahoo! JAPAN ID, payments can be made with “PayPay.” Yahoo! JAPAN plans to utilize the results of this experiment for the development of new services and eventually make face recognition payment using “PayPay” available at other stores and facilities.
Yahoo! JAPAN will handle the face images registered by users for face recognition and the face images taken during the recognition process with the greatest caution and the provision of images will be limited to quality improvement and only carried out with the consent of users*6.
Further, there will be posters and notices inside and outside the store to inform customers about the experiment, and cautioning them about inadvertently getting scanned near the self-service POS cash registers, and to explain the use of personal information when performing face recognition*7. Moreover, if a third party other than the user himself/herself is scanned during the face recognition process before payment, the system takes preventive measures to ensure that face recognition will not succeed.
With “Making Japan more convenient, with the power of information technology” as its mission, Yahoo! JAPAN will continue to provide a convenient user experience by advancing its face recognition technology through the validation and improvement of the results of this experiment and further expanding its use in various everyday situations.
■ Reference:
Shop without carrying anything! Yahoo! JAPAN Mart (Yoyogi Uehara store) Starts Face Recognition Payment Experiment (Yahoo! JAPAN corporate website)
https://about.yahoo.co.jp/topics/20230417.html
■ The face recognition payment video (no audio) can be downloaded from the following link:
https://yahoo.jp/TXJNU5
*1: Test launched on July 28, 2021 and fully launched as Yahoo! JAPAN Mart on January 26, 2022.
– Z Holdings Begins Demonstration Experiment on Instant Delivery Service in Collaboration with ASKUL and Demae-can (ZHD Press Release, July 5, 2021)
https://www.z-holdings.co.jp/pr/press-release/2021/0705b
Z Holdings Group to Deploy Quick Commerce of Groceries and Daily Necessities in Full Scale (ZHD Press Release, January 26, 2022)
https://www.z-holdings.co.jp/news/press-releases/2022/0126/
*2: Yahoo! JAPAN Mart which Delivers Groceries, etc. in a Minimum of 15 Minutes, Begins Operation of Drop-In Stores, a First for a Q-Commerce Operator (Yahoo! JAPAN Press Release, August 19, 2022)
https://about.yahoo.co.jp/pr/release/2022/08/19a/
*3: NEC’s POS solution “NeoSarf/POS” is used.
https://jpn.nec.com/neosarf/pos/index.html
*4: Face images can be pre-registered from the website below.
https://mart.yahoo.co.jp/promotion/facepay.html
*5: Only PayPay Balance payments by PayPay accounts linked to a Yahoo! JAPAN ID are accepted. PayPay Pay Later and credit card payments are not accepted. If a user is using the auto top-up feature of “PayPay,” the PayPay Balance will be automatically topped up when the Balance is less than the payment amount.
Auto top-up feature (PayPay help page):https://paypay.ne.jp/help/c0054/
*6: Use of customers’ personal information received through the face recognition system
https://accounts.yahoo.co.jp/profile/face/information_use
*7: Guidebook for Utilization of Camera Images (IoT Acceleration Consortium, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)
https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2021/03/20220330001/20220330001-1.pdf (external website)
* “PayPay” provides 5 types of PayPay Balance: PayPay Money, PayPay Money Lite, PayPay Points, PayPay Bonus Lite, and PayPay Gift Voucher. PayPay Money can be used to pay for partner services and merchants if it is within the amount deposited into the PayPay account opened after completing an identity verification process. It can also be used for sending and receiving money between PayPay users free of charge. PayPay Money can also be cashed out to a designated bank account (no withdrawal fee if using PayPay Bank). The legal nature of this is an electromagnetic record which can be used to pay for goods and other services, and can be remitted or cashed out, issued by the Company who is a Fund Transfer Operator registered under Article 37 of the Payment Services Act. Based on the provisions of Article 43 of the Payment Services Act, PayPay preserves the debt it owes to its users in full amount and more by depositing its assets. PayPay Money Lite is an electronic money issued by PayPay, which can be purchased and used to pay for services and merchants. PayPay users can transfer and receive PayPay Money Lite free of charge. The legal nature of this is a prepaid payment instrument issued by PayPay (Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Payment Services Act). Based on the provisions of Article 14 of the Payment Services Act, PayPay preserves the relevant assets for the purpose of protecting the owners of the prepaid payment instrument by providing a security deposit for issuance to the Legal Affairs Bureau in an amount that is half or more of the unused balance of prepaid instrument methods as of March 31 and September 30. In addition, PayPay Points and PayPay Bonus Lite, which are granted through campaigns and promotions when using PayPay, can be used for partner services and merchants in addition to PayPay Money and PayPay Money Lite. However, PayPay Bonus and PayPay Bonus Lite cannot be sent or transferred between PayPay users or be cashed out. PayPay Bonus Lite has an expiration date, after which date it will no longer be valid. PayPay Gift Voucher is a type of electronic money issued by PayPay, which can be used to make payments for affiliated services and merchants designated by the PayPay Gift Voucher. However, it cannot be transferred to other users or cashed out. PayPay Gift Vouchers have an expiration date within six months of issuance and will be invalid after that date.
PayPay also strives to create a safe and secure environment for users. If an unexpected payment is made by a third party using a PayPay account, or if a request to settle a payment suddenly arrives from PayPay to a user that does not have a PayPay account, there is a scheme that ensures compensation for the damages suffered (the difference will be provided as compensation if compensation is also provided by a third party), given that the prescribed conditions are met. Please see applying for compensation for details.
*Company names, trade names, and products/services in this press release are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective companies.
