That is 0 articles you have read today.
The Aporia is free and carries no advertising, so readers are the only
thing paying for it. If you are getting this much out of it, a small
donation is what keeps it independent.
Daily limit reached
You have read 0 articles today.
That is more than the 15 a day The Aporia gives away,
and well past what it can carry on nothing. Your allowance resets at
midnight.
There is no advertising here and nothing about you is sold, so readers
are the only thing paying for it. If the site is worth this much of
your day, it is worth a few dollars.
Everything else stays open: the
maps, the
directory and
search do
not count against this, and neither does re-opening something you have
already read today.
Revolut is launching a facial recognition payment system called "Pay with Smile" in London cafes starting Thursday. Customers can opt-in to use the feature through their Revolut app by completing a facial identity check similar to unlocking a smartphone. The technology verifies the customer’s identity against initial sign-up checks and authorizes payments between accounts without storing personal data at participating merchants. Kiss the Hippo Coffee is one of the pilot venues offering this service with zero processing fees for transactions, aiming to alleviate costs for independent businesses.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-24,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Revolut Business launched a pilot program for its "Pay with Smile" feature in London cafes starting this Thursday. The technology allows customers to make payments using facial recognition on Revolut Register terminals without the need for physical payment methods. Users must opt-in through their Revolut app and complete a facial identity check similar to unlocking a smartphone or accessing an app. If the verification is successful, it authorizes an account-to-account payment directly from the user’s Revolut account. Alex Codina, general manager of merchant payments at Revolut Business, stated that this system aims to solve consumer and merchant pain points by offering a seamless checkout experience. Personal data will not be stored by participating merchants, and all facial recognition data is encrypted end-to-end. The pilot program initially involves Kiss the Hippo Coffee in London.
Written for “Facial Recognition Payment Trials” on 2026-10-04,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
The Pay with Smile feature will be available at participating businesses using Revolut Register terminals, with the pilot launching in the capital this Thursday.
asserted
pilot → pay → capital
Simply tap Pay with Smile on a Revolut Register screen before completing a facial identity check, which is similar to using facial recognition to unlock a smartphone or access a banking app.
asserted
which → tap → app
The technology then verifies a customer’s identity against the checks they completed when signing up to Revolut.
asserted
they → verify → Revolut
If the facial match is successful, an account-to-account payment is authorised.
asserted
payment → authorise → account
Customers must actively opt in to use the feature through their Revolut app settings.
asserted
Customers → opt → settings
Revolut said customers will not be enrolled automatically and can withdraw their consent at any time.
asserted
customers → say → time
Alex Codina, general manager of merchant payments at Revolut Business, said: “By combining high-performance processing with facial recognition technology, we’re replacing outdated, fragmented tills with a hyper-efficient checkout experience designed to solve consumer and merchant pain points.”
asserted
we → say → points
The company said facial recognition data is encrypted end-to-end, while personal data will not be stored by participating merchants.
asserted
data → say → merchants
Alex Damgaci, managing director at Kiss the Hippo Coffee, said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming guests to try Pay with Smile at our Bloomsbury, Soho and Chelsea cafes before we roll out across all 12 of our cafes later this year.”
asserted
we → say → cafes
Revolut said it is offering 0% processing fees on Revolut Pay with Smile transactions, which it said will help ease burdens on independent venues.
asserted
it → say → venues
The Aporia
