PopID partners with Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions

By Edlyn Cardoza

PopID, a biometric FinTech company, and Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, retail’s first choice for unified commerce solutions, have announced a partnership to integrate PopPay into Toshiba’s front-end point-of-sale and self-service solutions running its ELERA Commerce Platform.

PopPay enables consumers to authenticate their identity for payment and/or loyalty using artificial intelligence-based facial verification software. Toshiba will distribute the integrated solutions to the restaurant, quick service restaurants (QSR), convenience stores (C-store), grocery, and other retail segments.

One of the first fully integrated solutions will feature PopPay biometric cameras incorporated with the Toshiba Pro-X Hybrid Kiosk. Customers who opt-in can scan items using the Pro-X scanner and then tender the transaction by selecting the on-screen PopPay button to have their face scanned. PopPay then authenticates loyalty and payment without requiring a card or phone.

“Whether at restaurants, convenience stores, or in other retail segments, consumer interest in non-traditional payment methods is growing exponentially across the globe with regions previously dominated by cash leapfrogging card transactions into mobile payments,” says Rance Poehler, President, and CEO of Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions. “Even in the U.S., where card payments showed strong acceptance, the adoption of non-traditional payments has seen an uptick. We know the market is ready with Gen Z and Millennials trending in this direction.”

Younger consumers have learned from prior generations that revolving credit debt is risky therefore driving them to pay via debit, electronic funds transfer, or Automated Clearing House (ACH) because there are no interest fees.

MX reports that reduced consumer confidence has many Gen Z respondents supporting the growing interest in mobile payments. The same report cites that most respondents (73%) have connected mobile payment apps to their financial accounts. In addition to their aversion to credit, Millennials and Gen Z also seek more convenience in their retail interactions. The Food Industry Association reports that 53% of Gen Z and 55% of millennial shoppers want greater convenience in their future grocery shopping experience.

“With nearly a quarter of America’s consumer spending running through Toshiba’s point-of-sale solutions, Toshiba is the largest retail-focused solutions company in the U.S. and globally,” said John Miller, CEO of PopID and Chairman of the investment company, Cali Group. “This partnership will enable Toshiba’s customers to use our technology to increase revenue, drive loyalty engagement, improve operations, and lower costs while enhancing the overall customer experience.”

“We are excited to partner with PopID to deliver speed, ease of use, and convenience to retailers and their shoppers,” continued Poehler. “We look forward to implementing PopPay in new industries to meet growing demand across retail segments.”

ELERA and its suite of solutions help free retailers from legacy technology constraints. With more control over store operations, retailers can enhance efficiency and productivity at scale. Integration of PopPay for automatic payments offers the retailer offers numerous benefits like faster transactions, higher throughput, reduced stress at checkout for the shopper leading to larger ticket size, increased loyalty participation driven by automation, and lower payment processing fees when integrated into point-of-sale systems, self-ordering kiosks, and drive-thru systems at QSR chains.