After about four years in working, facial recognition biometric solution from the Seven Bank is set to be deployed at around 20,000 ATMs nationwide as early as March 2024
Japan’s Seven Bank will enable its customers to deposit and withdraw cash without a bank card, using a facial recognition system at around 20,000 ATMs located in Seven-Eleven convenience stores nationwide as early as March 2024, President Masaaki Matsuhashi has told to the local media Nikkei.
The bank announced its plans to develop the innovative technology back in 2019. Since then, the research has evolved into practical implementation and the solution is already in the final stages of the deployment now.
Initially, the financial institution will limit the use of facial recognition services to its roughly 2.75 million account holders. Eventually, it could be expanded to depositors at other local institutions.
Moreover, the bank will urge these partners to adopt similar technology, so that their customers can benefit from the convenience of facial recognition at Seven Bank ATMs. In the future, not only banks but also nonfinancial companies will get access to the innovative authentication methods of Seven Bank. For instance, entertainment service providers might be soon able to sign up customers for smartphone contracts and verify their identities for concert ticket purchases at local ATMs.
The service will work in the following way: first, customers will link their account information to their facial image scanned at a Seven Bank ATM. Additionally, they will receive a unique ID, required for subsequent transactions as an extra security measure. Cash cards won’t be required to finalize a withdrawal or deposit.
Around 13,000 of Seven Bank’s ATMs already have facial recognition technology tools pre-installed. Another 6,000 machines will be replaced this fiscal year with the updated models so that the service can function at all Seven-Eleven locations.
Starting this September, customers will be allowed to open new accounts or update their existing addresses using facial recognition-equipped ATMs.
This innovation is only one of the most extraordinary ATM features worldwide.
