Carrefour Rolls Out Facial Biometric Payment in UAE

Carrefour has enabled facial recognition as a means of verifying payments in the UAE.

The retailer, which is operated as a franchise by Majid Al Futtaim in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), announced on Friday (Feb. 10) that it has teamed up with Network International and biometric technology firm PopID to launch the latter’s “Face Pay” verification platform in the country.

Customers visiting Carrefour’s stores in Deira and Amsaf can now pay for their shopping by simply smiling at a payment terminal instead of reaching for their card or phone, the company said in a press release. It added that consumers can enroll for the service online via the Carrefour mobile app or website.

While the identification and verification process has evolved, acceptance is still handled by Carrefour’s long-term payments partner in the country — Network International.

“Carrefour is a leader in introducing new technologies that enhance the customer experience, whilst finding solutions that can eliminate friction,” Bernardo Perloiro, chief operating officer, GCC at Majid Futtaim Retail, said in the release. “Face verification will make it easier and more convenient for our customers to check out efficiently — without having to reach for their wallets.”

John Miller, CEO at PopID, said, “In America and Japan, we have demonstrated that allowing consumers to link Face Pay to loyalty accounts and payment methods enhances revenue, increases speed of ordering and check out, drives loyalty engagement, and reduces fraud.”

He added, “We are excited to implement the platform with Carrefour and Network International in grocery for the first time in this region.”

While the recent linkup may be PopID’s first foray into the Middle Eastern grocery sector, it first debuted its facial verification technology in the region via a partnership with Visa back in April 2022.

In an interview with PYMNTS, Miller said technologies like Face Pay extend consumer use cases for biometric authentication beyond mobile devices, where the technology is currently most familiar.

Looking to replicate the success of mobile biometrics, he said “our goal is to be like Apple Pay, except without the phone.”

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