Pay with a glance at a screen as biometric technology company begins push into Australian retail

Customers will be able to pay using face and palm scans, potentially speeding up transactions – but rollout of the technology is likely to be slow

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The company behind 300,000 Eftpos terminals across Australia is hoping shoppers will want to make payments by simply glancing at a screen, as biometric technology pushes further into retailing.

Verifone is selling the innovation as “pay for your coffee with a smile”, promising faster checkouts for people who opt in to having their face or palm-vein – the veins in people’s hands – biometrics used for Eftpos transactions in Australia.