Revolut has unveiled an in-store facial recognition checkout system that allows customers to make payments with a simple glance, eliminating the need for a card or phone at the point of sale.
The feature, called Pay with Smile, is available on the Revolut Register terminal. At checkout, customers tap the Pay with Smile option on screen, triggering a face identity check that verifies the user against identity data collected during the Revolut onboarding process — similar to unlocking a smartphone or accessing a banking app. If the check is successful, an account-to-account payment is authorized instantly.
Participation is opt-in only. Customers must enable the feature in their Revolut app settings, and consent can be revoked at any time. Revolut said customers will not be enrolled by default, facial recognition data is encrypted end-to-end, and personal data will not be stored by merchants.
The technology is being piloted in London from September 24, with Revolut customers able to try it at Kiss the Hippo coffee shops in Bloomsbury, Chelsea, and Soho through September 26. Revolut said the broader rollout of the Register terminal will follow in due course.
Revolut is offering 0% processing fees on Pay with Smile transactions, a move it says is aimed at easing the financial burden on independent venues.
Alex Codina, General Manager of Merchant Payments at Revolut Business, described the feature as replacing “outdated, fragmented tills with a hyper-efficient checkout experience designed to solve consumer and merchant pain points.”
