Face-swiping Payment Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Type (Payment Equipment, Payment System), By Application, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 - 2030

Face-swiping Payment Market Size & Trends

The global face-swiping payment market size was valued at USD 4.62 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.9% from 2023 to 2030. The growth can be attributed to the increasing adoption of face-swiping payment technology by consumers and merchants for small-scale transactions. The rise in the adoption of technology can be attributed to lucrative benefits offered by face payments such as reduced transaction time and ease in processing payments. Additionally, the rising demand for contactless payments worldwide is another major factor expected to drive the industry’s growth. Moreover, the face-swiping payment systems are based on facial recognition technology, making it more secure than other digital payment methods, which use PINs and passcode to authenticate a user.

Several governments to enhance the customer experience are implementing face recognition technology enabling travelers to process payment by swiping faces. For instance, in October 2021, the city of Moscow launched a new Face Pay, a face recognition payment service that will be implemented at over 240 Mosmetro stations. To use Face Pay, metro riders are required to download the Mosmetro smartphone application, upload their picture, and link their metro cards and bank account. With this launch, the Moscow authorities aim to lower the payment processing times and shorten the queues to avoid physical contact during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, such initiatives are further anticipated to drive the growth of the market.

The technological advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning have led to an improved accuracy and speed of facial recognition technology, making it more viable for use in payment transactions. Furthermore, improvement in face-swiping technology such as the integration of IoT in face-swiping solutions is anticipated to fuel the growth of the market. Furthermore, the rising launches of face-swiping solutions and facilities offered by market players to enable customers to proceed with payments using face-swiping technology bode well for the growth of the market. For instance, PopID, a Los Angeles-based technology company, uses face detection technology to facilitate consumers to make payments at restaurant chains. This PopPay platform is used in over 100 restaurants, including approximately 35 in California. It advances the company's PopEntry product, which uses facial recognition to allow people to enter an office or building.

The face-swiping payment market is anticipated to be driven by a variety of high-tech technological features. Some of these features include facial 3D depth, blink detection, facial motion recognition, bright pupil effect detection, average difference detection, optical flow field judgment, and other algorithms that enable quick and secure payments. Furthermore, the growing investments in the face-swiping payment technology providing companies by venture capital firms bode well for the industry’s growth. For instance, in March 2022, PopID, identity verification gateway, announced that it aimed at raising USD 50 million in funding for scaling its face verification services for payment functions. The company has already raised USD 25.0 million in funding from CaliBurger restaurant holding company Cali Group, a PopID’s parent company.

Though the market is expected to witness growth in the forecast period, some of the challenges are anticipated to restrain the growth. For instance, technical glitches such as poor lighting and low resolution, among others while using face-swiping payment technology can fail while authorizing the user. Furthermore, the high costs involved in the implementation of face-swiping technology and concerns over the level of security provided by face-swiping payment solutions are expected to hinder growth. However, the increasing integration of risk management systems and computer algorithms for increased accuracy and security is further anticipated to create new growth opportunities.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic positively impacted the growth of the face-swiping payment industry. The norms and regulations for social distancing benefited the companies offering face-swiping technology owing to the demand created for touchless payments. Furthermore, the growth in the partnerships and launches of face-swiping solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic is projected to drive the industry’s growth over the forecast period. For instance, in May 2022, Mastercard, a financial services company, announced the launch of the biometric payment technology enabling consumers to process payments with their face or hand at checkout.

Type Insights

The payment equipment segment accounted for the largest revenue share of more than 58.0% in 2022. The factors such as the growing popularity of cashier-less ordering kiosks in several fast food restaurants such as Wendy's and McDonald's are driving the growth. Furthermore, the restaurants such as CaliBurger, a burger chain, have installed self-ordering kiosks with facial recognition technology and artificial intelligence to enable customers to order food, make payments, and log into the loyalty program of the chain. It also stores and uses previous order data to customize orders for customers.

The payment system segment is anticipated to witness the fastest growth in the forecast period. The growing deployment of payment systems acquired with biometric sensors for face recognition within POS allowing customers to make payments through face-swiping is propelling the growth of the segment. Furthermore, these systems can be built with smart contracts on a custom blockchain deployment, making payments efficient and secure. Hence, the rising popularity of blockchain technology is anticipated to fuel the growth of acceptance of payment systems.

Application Insights

The retail segment dominated the market with a revenue share of over 32.0% in 2022. The majority of the market players across the globe are rolling out face-swiping payments as part of the efforts to streamline their operations and enhance customer experience. For instance, in February 2023, Network International, a financial services company, and Carrefour, a retail company, implemented PopID’s face verification platform. With this implementation Carrefour customers were allowed to utilize Face Pay at Deira and Amsaf stores. Thus, such product development and capability expansion initiatives by market players in the retail sector are expected to fuel the segment’s growth over the forecast period.

The travel segment is anticipated to witness steady growth over the forecast period. The rapid growth of face-swiping payment technology and the growing preference for touchless payments in traveling due to the pandemic is among the significant factors expected to drive the segment's growth. Furthermore, various initiatives taken by transport companies to encourage the use of face-recognition payment systems are further boosting segment growth. For instance, in October 2021, a fare payment system leveraging face recognition named Moscow Metro’s Face Pay system, was tested on five additional metro lines of the network. With this expansion Metro’s Face Pay system was tested on a total of nine lines. Hence, such initiatives are anticipated to drive the market’s growth.

Regional Insights

Asia Pacific dominated the market in 2022 and accounted for a share of over 46.0% of the global revenue. The growth of the market across the Asia Pacific region can be attributed to the support from government authorities for adopting face recognition technology. For instance, in January 2023, as per the article by Business Standard Private Ltd. magazine, the Indian government allowed banks to verify individual transactions using facial recognition technology in a bid to lower the frauds. Furthermore, the innovative efforts made by various cities to encourage the use of face-swiping payments are also expected to contribute to regional growth. For instance, in February 2022, Niigata, a city in Japan, and Glory Ltd., a manufacturer of a range of machines for handling money, piloted a project called hands-free shopping street. This project was aimed towards enabling customers to utilize facial recognition technology for e-payments that works even when the customer has a mask.

North America is expected to witness steady growth over the forecast period. The increasing launches of face-swiping payment platforms across the region are anticipated to fuel market’s growth. For instance, in May 2022, Mastercard, a financial services company, announced a new face recognition payment platform that allows customers to make payments using their faces or hand gestures. MasterCard's new payment system is known as 'smile to pay.' The cardless system is designed to decrease transaction time, shorten store queues, increase security, and improve hygiene.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

The market is highly consolidated due to the presence of several predominant players. The industry players aim for new product launches as part of their efforts to improve their offerings. For instance, in January 2023, QNB Group, a commercial banking company introduced a latest biometric payment acceptance solution enabling merchants accept biometric payments in Qatar. As a result of this launch, QNB Group offered help to merchants with outlets in Qatar by providing their customers the security and convenience of facial biometric payments.

To further broaden their global presence, multiple companies are working on strategic planning such as mergers, partnerships, and acquisitions. For instance, in April 2022, PopID, a consumer authentication service, partnered with Visa Inc., a financial services corporation. This partnership was aimed towards launching facial verification payment acceptance across the Middle East. Some prominent players in the global face-swiping payment market include:

• PopID, Inc.

• Facepay

• PayByFace B.V.

• VisionLabs

• Telepower Communications Co., Ltd. (Telpo)

• PAX Global Technology Limited

• Alipay

• NEC Corporation

• SnapPay Inc.

• Mastercard

• CloudWalk Technology Co. Ltd.

Face-swiping Payment Market Report Scope

Global Face-swiping Payment Market Report Segmentation

The report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2017 to 2030. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global face-swiping payment market report based on type, application, and region:

• Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Payment Equipment

    • POS Equipment

    • Kiosk

  • Payment System

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Retail

  • Restaurant

  • Travel

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • UK

    • France

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

    • South Korea

    • Australia

  • Latin America

    • Brazil

    • Mexico

  • Middle East & Africa

    • UAE

    • Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)

    • South Africa