Seoul light rail system trials face recognition ticketing

Seoul Metro T-Money face recognition payment at a light railway gate
PILOT: The face recognition payment system enables passengers to pay their fare and enter without using their phone

Employees travelling on Seoul Metro’s Ui-Sinseol light rapid transit line in South Korea are testing a face recognition payment system that enables passengers to pay their fares without needing to tap a smartphone or card or remove their face mask.

The payment system has been introduced at access gates on 13 stations along the line and automatically deducts a user’s fare from a linked account as they go through the gate while looking at a screen.

The system uses a face recognition payment solution developed by T-Money and will be available to passengers who upload a selfie and link it to their chosen payment method via the mobility and payment service’s mobile app.

“During the pilot period, T-Money plans to speed up its commercialisation by tracking and improving the actual payment speed of facial recognition payments,” The Korea Herald reports.

“The company takes pride in the fact that the system accurately recognises users without them having to lower their masks.”

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