Tobu Department Store and Tobu Railway announced on November 10th that they will begin facial recognition payments at Tobu Department Store Ikebukuro Main Store on November 19th. The system will be available throughout the entire store, including the "eatobu" food floor on the second basement level, which will reopen after renovation on the same day, excluding some temporary pop-up stores and other specific outlets. According to both companies, this marks the first implementation of such a system in a department store.
To use the service, customers must register as members for "SAKULaLa," a biometric authentication service developed by Tobu Railway and Hitachi, Ltd., and register their facial data and credit card information. At checkout, customers inform the cashier they wish to pay with SAKULaLa, then undergo facial authentication at the terminal. Following this, they enter the last four digits of their registered phone number and select the card they wish to use for payment, completing the transaction.
If a Tobu Card is registered and used for payment, TOBU POINTs will automatically accumulate, just as if the card were presented physically at the store.
Once registered, the service can also be used for shopping at participating supermarkets, passing through train station ticket gates, and hotel check-ins. Tobu Department Store implemented the system by adding facial recognition functionality to existing payment terminals and plans to expand it to its Funabashi store in the future.
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