BBVA is testing a facial recognition system at its inhouse cafetaria that is capable of recognising users and their orders and charging their cards as part of a strategy to render checkouts and payments 'invisible'.
More than 1,000 of the bank's staff have already downloaded an order-ahead app for use in Ciudad BBVA and testing has begun on a biometric facial recognition system based on technology from Veridas, a joint venture startup created by the Spanish bank and Das-Nano in 2017.
The order-ahead app enables users to order a coffee, pick it up without waiting in line and pay for it without their wallets. Designed in conjuction with Sodexo Iberia, the Group’s restaurant partner, the app additionally allows users to split the bill with fellow diners and incorporates loyalty points and discounts.
“With this project, we’re eliminating the friction points for customers when they make a purchase in a store. They avoid lines, and have a more digital experience with better information,” BBVA’s head of global payments Ignacio Bañón, says. "The Group is working to make invisible payments possible through pilot projects with large firms in different sectors.”
He says 10% of the orders made on Expresso, one of Ciudad BBVA’s most frequented cafeterias, are now made via the app.
The next phase of the development will incorporate machine learning and biometric technology to bring the invisible payment application to self-service restaurants, where users pick up products themselves and take them to the table on trays.
The system, which is already being piloted, recognises the user’s face and the products on their tray through cameras equipped with artificial intelligence, and directly charges the card associated with the profile.