Facial Recognition Becomes KFC Payment Method

In China, pearly whites may get you supper, at least at one KFC location in one Chinese city.

Reuters recently reported customers at one of the firm’s outlets in Hangzhou will be able to pay for their meals with “Smile to Pay” biometric facial recognition technology. The payment method’s adoption is part of a movement by chain owner Yum China Holdings to bring in business from a younger consumer subset. Yum China spun off from United States-based parent company Yum! Brands last year.

Yum China is grappling with changing desires on the part of consumers and has nearly 7,700 outlets across the country. But, as Reuters noted, the firm has been seeing some growth in same-store sales buoyed by KFC. The new biometric payment system system is one in which customers scan their faces at an ordering kiosk and then enter an associated personal phone number. Offering up a phone number gives KFC a secondary guard against those who might seek to cheat the facial recognition capabilities of the platform.