Biometric-based payments methods in China have just taken another step forward with the recent completion of the first offline facial-scan transaction based on standards set by the Chinese central bank in the Zhejiang province port city of Ningbo.
The technology department of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) previously arranged for relevant parties to engage in the research and formulation of facial recognition offline payment security application technical standards (人脸识别线下支付安全应用技术标准), in order to improve the efficiency and security of biometric technology in the finance sector.
The Ningbo branch of PBOC subsequently arranged for close cooperation between a total of 14 local trial institutions, including the Ningbo branch of China UnionPay, Bank of Ningbo and Ningbo Unionpay Merchant Services, to oversee the first payments transaction based on PBOC’s new standards at an actual consumer site in the city.
