The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), through its Sandbox Programme and Innovation Hub at the Emirates Institute of Finance (EIF), in collaboration with Network International, a leading fintech across the Middle East and Africa, has introduced the region’s first-of-its-kind biometric payment solution leveraging facial and palm recognition technologies.
„Currently in its Proof-of-Concept phase, the initiative is being demonstrated at the Dubai Land Department, an entity under the Dubai Government, allowing customers to make payments seamlessly by authenticating their identity through facial or palm biometrics, eliminating the need for physical cards or mobile devices. This cutting-edge solution is enabled by Network International and powered by PopID.” – according to the press release.
Commenting on the initiative, H.E. Saif Humaid Al Dhaheri, Assistant Governor for Banking Operations and Support Services at CBUAE and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the EIF, said, “The Central Bank of the UAE reaffirms its commitment to driving innovation and supporting the nation’s digital transformation. The introduction of biometric payment solutions represents a strategic step to delivering more secure and seamless payment experiences, setting new benchmarks for trust and convenience in financial transactions, while aligning with the UAE’s vision of building a world-leading, innovation-driven digital economy.”
Murat Cagri Suzer, Group Chief Executive Officer, Network International, said, “Network International is proud to lead the way in facilitating biometric payments, working closely with the Central Bank of the UAE to build a future-ready payments ecosystem. Biometric payments represent the next frontier in digital commerce, combining convenience, security, and efficiency.”
Meanwhile, in the US, Amazon is moving in the opposite direction. The company has announced that it will phase out its Amazon One palm biometric payment system across its retail operations.
Amazon One users will still be able to pay with their palms until June 3rd, 2026, while some locations may end the service before this date, the e-commerce giant said on Tuesday.
“In response to limited customer adoption, we’re discontinuing Amazon One, our authentication service for facility access and payment,” says the announcement. “All customer data associated with Amazon One will be securely deleted after the service ends.”
The end of the palm recognition experiment comes as Amazon retreats from physical retail. On Tuesday, the company also said it would close all 72 of its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores in the U.S. The firm will instead focus on Whole Foods Market locations and grocery delivery.
Amazon One was launched in 2020 for contactless payments and access control, initially rolling out the service at some Amazon Go convenience stores in Seattle. In 2023, the system was introduced to over 500 Whole Foods locations
Banking 4.0 – „how was the experience for you”
„To be honest I think that Sinaia, your conference, is much better then Davos.”
Many more interesting quotes in the video below:
