Fingerprint sensors are increasingly being used in smartphones not only for access control but also for enabling payments authorization whether for physical products or online payments. Chinese ecommerce behemoth Alibaba also plans on using smartphones for this purpose but it’s taking a slightly different route. Alibaba plans to use facial recognition technology to let users authorize payments.
During a presentation at CeBIT 2015 today Alibaba CEO Jack Ma revealed that the option will be called Smile to Pay. Shoppers will be able to use this option to pay for purchases by simply scanning their faces using their smartphones.
Referring to online payments today as “a big headache,” Jack Ma said that Alibaba today showed technology that is the “future of how people can buy things online.”
There are obvious security concerns here. Could people be able to trick the smartphone with a picture or a representation of someone’s face? One can’t deny that the possibility exists.
Alibaba might have other ideas to ensure that its not as easy to trick the system. A representative for the company told Mashable that this feature is currently still in development so it’s far from complete.
The company has not even provided a confirmed launch date yet so there may be some wait involved before you can scan your face to pay for things.
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