KFC's endeavor to let people pay their bills using facial recognition technology marks the world's first such commercialized application.

That's according to Chen Jidong, director of biometric identification technology at Ant Financial Services Group, which helped create the system.

"Yum China has a history of adopting innovative technologies to enhance the in-store dining experience, and we could think of no better place to pilot this advanced technology," Chen said at the inaugural ceremony of KFC's concept restaurant KPRO on Sept 1.

With a few taps on the screens to order, customers can look up into the camera, thereby sealing the deal. Alipay adopts a multistep authentication process, including a facial scan and mobile phone number, to verify identity and facilitate payment.

Chen said the scanning system focuses on the face, so it doesn't matter if the customer changes makeup or wears a wig. In the first instance, the machine will compare the detected face with the image logged by public security authorities.

The false recognition rate - that is, the likelihood that the biometric security system incorrectly rejects an access attempt by an authorized user - is near zero. But Chen noted that the key to secure transactions is another gauge called the false-acceptance rate, or the chances that the system incorrectly accepts an unauthorized user.

"Currently the FAR stands at 0.002 percent. But we need to further lessen the percentage in order to apply the technology to a wide range of sophisticated scenarios, such as large-sum money transfers and cashierless convenience stores, which require bank-level security," he said.

The face recognition system was first displayed in March 2015 by Jack Ma, founder of Ant's parent Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Since then, it has been undergoing small-scale testing and is being piloted for civic services such as tax declaration.

Rival Baidu Inc has used its own version of facial recognition for entry passes at tourist sites, but it has not yet unveiled payment-related use of the technology.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/08/2017 page29)