From handing over paper notes to swiping cards to tapping phones – the way we pay has evolved greatly over the last few decades. Just when you thought things could not get any more convenient, face recognition-based payment is making its way to a payment terminal near you.

And while paying for groceries or your morning cup of coffee with your face in a matter of seconds is undoubtedly an incredible convenience, NEC and its partners have grander and more exciting plans to bring new levels of convenience and personalized experiences to the world.

All this and more will be discussed at the NEC Visionary Week 2022 track session, “NEC I:Delight - Future of payment, customer experience and beyond”. In this hybrid sharing/panel session, NEC’s Senior Vice President Hiroshi Hashimoto and Executive Business Producer Daichi Iwata will be joined by esteemed guest speakers from Mastercard – Vice President Tobias Puehse and Vice President Qing Cao - to share details on the vision they share for safer and more convenient payment.

We spoke to Mr. Hashimoto ahead of the session to hear his thoughts.

What does the Mastercard partnership mean to NEC?

We are embarking on a significant challenge with Mastercard, with the goal of reimagining biometrics for the future of payments. This is a goal that’s possible because of Mastercard's longstanding track record in payments and forward-thinking in biometrics.

Mastercard has also provided us with the Biometric Checkout Program, which enables biometric-based payment (for example face recognition) to become a new way of payments around the world. Together with Mastercard, we have begun new collaboration efforts with international brands, allowing us to greatly expand the quality and range of services we can provide, which will lead to further value improvement for NEC’s face recognition services.

What are some of the points you look forward to discussing with the Mastercard team during the session?

Our experience working with Mastercard has been incredibly positive, and we want to speak openly with our valuable partners about the incredible potential we both believe face recognition holds in the payment space and beyond.

Who is this session for? Why should they be excited to participate?

If your business is interested in the deployment of biometric authentication and identification systems, especially with regards to payments, I am certain you will find this session intriguing. We will be discussing not only how we intend to implement this technology, but also what makes our biometric technologies mature enough to be real-world ready.

The implementation of such systems is in line with NEC’s social vision, so participants will get to learn more about the big picture we are working towards as well. And of course, I am certain that there are many tech enthusiasts who are interested in learning more about biometric technology and who will find this session fascinating. I look forward to having you all join us!

How to Participate

The “NEC I:Delight - Future of payment, customer experience and beyond” session is on September 15 at the NEC Visionary Week 2022. The session will be streamed at 1:00pm across three time zones (JST/CDT/CEST), and will also be available on-demand until October 31 2022.

Registration is free, so sign up now to be a part of this and other discussions between global thought leaders who are advancing efforts to create a world where openness and trust are key components of all technology.

As a primer, you may also read up ahead of the session on NEC I:Delight and how it allows a user to enjoy seamless experiences across touchless touchpoints through a single digital identity.

(August 16, 2022)