Customers of Qatar National Bank (QNB) can now authenticate contactless payments for purchases at merchants in Qatar using their face and without needing to use a physical payment card or smartphone.

QNB is the first bank in Qatar to roll out biometric payments using facial recognition technology, which it says “will be helping merchants in Qatar to offer customers the simplicity, convenience and security of facial biometric payments”.

Users can sign up for the service by registering their face with a selfie and linking it to their chosen card or by scanning a QR code at a participating retail outlet.

“The technology enables customers to authenticate payments for goods and services through facial verification, without a physical card or mobile phone after initial enrolment,” QNB explains.

“As a one-time sign-up, users will create their profile by taking a selfie of their face using their smartphone, before entering their phone number and card details. The technology then tokenizes the card number and securely links it to the facial biometric template.

“It only takes a minute or two to set this up and then only a few seconds to make the payment. The merchants will offer the in-store sign-up using a QR capability.”

QNB is introducing the service in partnership with Visa using biometric payment technology provider PopID’s PopPay solution.

Visa and QNB began piloting biometric payments using facial recognition technology at the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar in November.

Next: Visit the NFCW Expo to find new suppliers and solutions