ATM without card, just smile to withdraw money

ATMs at three branches of the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) in Jinan City, the capital of Shandong Province, have been equipped with facial recognition technology. Accordingly, customers will not need to use their cards for each withdrawal or deposit transaction.

Customers need to perform the following operations: press the button to activate the facial recognition system, scan the face image through the camera, enter the mobile phone number or ID card number, enter the transaction amount and password.

ABC is not the first bank in China to use facial recognition technology at ATMs. In 2015, CMB began deploying the technology in the city of Shenzhen. By 2016, CMB had integrated the technology into about 1,000 ATMs in 106 cities across China.

Facial recognition technology is not only used in the banking sector, but also in many other fields. Alibaba’s financial company has partnered with KFC to launch a smile-to-pay service. This service allows customers to choose “face scanning” as a payment method after placing an order.

China's largest search engine provider Baidu is planning to apply the technology to boarding passes at major airports in Beijing.

With facial recognition technology, banks believe it will help customers have better service experiences, including reducing the risk of card counterfeiting, copying personal information or card swallowing.

ABC's technical experts assert that the technology is highly secure because it not only compares the customer's facial image with the police database but also requires an ID number or mobile phone number and password. In addition, the latest generation of infrared cameras also has the ability to minimize the risk of illegal acts.

However, the technology also faces certain barriers, such as high maintenance costs. In addition, according to the Guizhou Smart City Research Institute (GSCRI), many older customers may find it difficult to trust or get used to the technology when making withdrawals.

While it remains unclear whether the technology will expand to other commercial activities, current trends suggest that the demand for its use will increase over time. GSCRI says that in the future, facial recognition and mobile payments will be the inevitable choice for consumers.

Subcutaneous chip

According to Agence France-Presse, in Sweden, about 3,000 people have had chips implanted in their skin to replace the types of devices needed for their daily needs. The chips - the size of a grain of rice - were introduced in 2015.

Sweden's national railway company has more than 130 people using its microchip reservation service each year. When using the service, a scanner checks the passenger's hand to see the personal information on their chip, which can also be used to make purchases like a credit card.

After implanting the chip under her skin, Ulrika Celsing easily replaced her gym card and her work access card. Every time she arrived at the office, the 28-year-old simply waved her hand over a small box and typed in a code to open the door. The procedure, Celsing said, only caused a slight sting.

The Biohacking trend, implanting technological devices into the body - is becoming popular as more and more people have started using wearable technology products such as Apple Watches or Fitits.

Technically, the chip uses Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. This is the type of technology currently used in contactless payment cards or phone payment solutions such as Apple Pay or Samsung Pay.

Sweden is one of the most open countries in the world to technology. However, many people believe that chip technology is not advanced enough to be immune to hackers. Biologist Libberton says that information given to users is too limited to fear hacking or surveillance.