First Cashless, Then Wallet-less, Now Phone-less

Alibaba launches "Smile to Pay" in China's KFC

Location	Industry	Trend Watch
China	Tech, Retail	Futures

China is no stranger to technology. Today's IoT conversations cannot be held without mentioning Alibaba or Tencent. As they rapidly develop a seamless world of digital transactions, the rest of us are still trying to catch up. The launch of Alibaba's "Smile to Pay" system is just another proof that if we don't exponentially embrace technology, we will be left in the dust. 

The first push for a cashless society meant consumers made the comfortable transition towards using contactless card payments. Then came wallet-less solutions that allowed transactions to be made with a smartphone. Now, Alibaba wants to push for a phone-less system where you can pay for meals with only your face. Consumers will soon be able to leave the house with no wallet or phones without worry. 

The "Smile to Pay" facial recognition system is currently placed in a KFC outlet in Hangzhou, where diners can pay just by smiling and entering their phone number. The same questions always bubble up whenever we see technology that deals with facial recognition: how safe is it, and are we able to trick the system? In the above video published by Alibaba, they put the user through several different scenarios of changing her appearance to putting her in a crowd of people. It seems to pass the test, although it is a pretty controlled environment.

KFC isn't the only place China is using facial recognition software. This technology has even been implemented in airports and train stations, with China Southern Airlines using this technology to forego boarding passes for the first time last year. 

Photo and Video Credits: Alibaba Group