Toss Expands “Face Pay” Pilot to 20K Merchants Across Seoul

• Face Pay pilot service now available to pre-registered users in every district of Seoul
• Face Pay expanded to more business types such as everyday merchants including cafés, restaurants, and hair salons

Viva Republica, the operator of the financial super app “Toss,” announced that it is expanding Face Pay to more merchants. The service will be piloted at 20,000 Toss merchants across Seoul.

Toss Face Pay allows users to make payments simply through facial recognition. Users can make payments easily and securely using a credit card, debit card, or bank account of their choice with high accuracy and speed after a single identity verification and face registration on Toss app.

Following its initial launch in February at convenience stores, the service is now being piloted at stores across all districts of Seoul. It is currently rolled out to a limited group of pre-registered users, but it is planned to gradually expand to more user base.

Face Pay is available at stores equipped with terminals provided by Toss Place, Toss’s affiliate specializing in payment terminals and POS solutions. Alongside the increase in the number of merchants using Face Pay, the range of businesses that could utilize the service had also expanded to now include everyday businesses such as cafés, restaurants, beauty salons, academies, and fitness centers.

Toss is also determined to ensure the safety and convenience of Face Pay. The system is backed by a 24/7 Fraud Detection System (FDS) that monitors for and immediately responds to suspicious transactions. Toss also has a “Toss Compensation Program,” under which users are preemptively reimbursed for any damages caused by fraudulent transactions made through Face Pay.

Toss underwent a prior adequacy review by the Personal Information Protection Commission(PIPC) before launching the service. This review process enables companies introducing new technologies or services to find reasonable personal information protection measures with PIPC. Through this process, Toss developed safeguards to securely handle facial recognition information and unique identifiable information aligned with Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act.

“Through this pilot program, we aim to further advance the usability and stability of Face Pay so that it can be seamlessly integrated into everyday lives,” a Toss representative stated. “We will continue to enhance our service to deliver an innovative and secure payment experience.”