The coronavirus pandemic has had a negative impact on shopping around the world.
Restrictions on shopping and safety concerns imposed by health officials during the pandemic have forced several people to join e-commerce.
As most of the world comes out of locks, the way we shop is also changing. After the pandemic, most people consciously avoid paying with cash.
Customers make optimal use of the technology and pay digitally via apps.
In Russia, shoppers are increasingly buying goods with the turn of their head as they opt for face payment technology. It has been introduced in several supermarkets and cafes in Moscow, where customers can get a 20 percent discount on its usage.
The new technology is the future of shopping as payment doesn’t even require QR codes. Customers just need to download the app and enter their biometric information.
The introduction of this technology is promising. The X-5 Group, Russia’s leading grocery retailer, was the first to develop this technology.
Earlier this month, it partnered with Russian state giant Sberbank to roll out this technology in 52 of its supermarkets and inspire smaller stores to do the same.
According to Mikhail Kucherenkov, head of the X-5 Group’s innovation laboratory, “there are currently more than 5,500 self-checkout procedures that are equipped with the facial recognition module. We are planning a nationwide rollout in the near future.”
How does the technology really work?
Face recognition is a biometric technology used to identify a person.
Facial image technology makes it possible to authenticate one’s own identity or to check whether a person is who they claim to be.
A person’s face is compared to an existing image in a database, which in turn helps identify the person. Every little detail is taken into account.
The base of the ears, the distance between the two pupils, the shape of the nose, eyebrows and mouth, even the grain of the skin.
Originally used to fight crime, this method is now used to access bank accounts and social media platforms.
Privacy concerns
As its popularity increases, so too do security and privacy concerns.
In countries with no personal freedoms, where governments have no limits on the use of technology, facial recognition could be used to spy on citizens.
Ultimately, facial recognition data is stored on servers and, like any other computer system, is vulnerable to hackers who can use the data to commit identity fraud.
There is a lack of regulation and there is no uniform legal framework for their use and limits. Nobody knows what companies are doing that use facial recognition.
