China Installs Their First Face Scanner to Pay for the Subway in Zhengzhou

Commuters can now walk by the scanner and enter and ride from any of the stations in Zhengzhou, Henan province without having to use their wallets or cellphones to pay, according to Shanghaiist.

In order to be scanned, commuters must first register using the Zhengzhou Metro app and get their identity and face verified. Almost 200,000 passengers have registered for the service, with 10,000 commuters using the new feature every day.

Other cities in China have already started testing the new facial recognition scanner at subway stations, including Guangzhou, Nanjing and Shenzhen.

China has been pushing forward with its facial recognition technology throughout the country over the past few years. The new tech has been incorporated in many sectors such as food in vending machines.

The telecommunication industry also recently implemented a law that allows people to get their faces scanned first before having their internet installed or buying a new phone.

Feature Image via CGTN