QNB Group, one of the largest financial institutions in the Mena region, has introduced a new biometric payments acceptance tool to empower its merchants and consumers in Qatar.
This innovation allows consumers to verify payments against their purchases via facial verification. The solution does not require the use of a physical card or mobile phone once the preliminary enrolment is concluded.
QNB Group senior executive VP of group retail banking, Adel Al-Malki, said: “As the payment landscape evolves, QNB is always at the forefront of this evolution, and constantly willing to be an early adopter of innovative technologies that drive frictionless and enhanced payment experience – putting our customers and merchants experience at the centre of everything we do.”
Created by PopID using its proprietary facial verification technology, the solution relies on QNB’s acceptance network.
The facial payments solution is also supported by Visa’s tokenisation offerings.
Using the facial payments solution, merchants can provide their customers with in-store sign-up via a QR code.
To complete the one-time sign-up process, users need to take a selfie on their smartphone device and then enter their phone number and card details to set up their profiles.
Once the profile is created, the solution tokenises the card number and safely connects it to the facial biometric template.
“Being the ‘first in Qatar’ in another innovation that augments the already rich range of payment options that includes functionality such as contactless payments, QNB ‘MyPOS’ (Tap on Phone payment acceptance) and Samsung/Google/Apple pay, to mention a few,” added Mr Al-Malki.
QNB Group operates in more than 30 countries across three continents through 1000 locations, with an ATM network of more than 4,600 machines, providing a comprehensive range of advanced products and services.
PopID is a consumer authentication service that provides solutions for verifying an individual’s identity based on their face for applications such as payments and entry.
Grocery chain Géant became the first retailer in the Middle East that welcomed PopID when it was first brought to the Middle East in April through a partnership with Visa.
CEO of PopID and its parent company Cali Group, John Miller, said: “In America and Japan, we have demonstrated that allowing consumers to link PopPay to loyalty accounts and payment methods substantially increases the speed of ordering and check out, drives loyalty engagement, and reduces fraud. We are excited to work with Visa and QNB to bring this loyalty and payment platform to businesses and consumers in Qatar.”
