The government of Macau has announced that facial recognition will be implemented at ATMs to confirm cardholders with China UnionPay.
Chinese Authorities to Use Facial Recognition Tech to Fight Money Laundering at Macau CasinosIt’s part of an effort to fight money laundering.
As Bloomberg reports, the semi-autonomous region of Macau is the only part of China in which gambling is legal, and Chinese authorities are keen to staunch the outflow of billions of dollars at Macau casinos.
To that end, ATMs will be outfitted with facial recognition technology designed to verify the identities of individuals withdrawing funds from accounts with China UnionPay, the country’s major financial services organization. Authorities haven’t yet provided a timeline for the effort.
Commenting on the move in a press conference, Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd CEO Ambrose So Shu Fai said he expects the effort to have “minimal impact” on the company’s business, adding that casino VIPs tend not to be the holders of multiple payment cards that this regulation is targeting.
