Revolut has unveiled Pay with Smile, an in-store facial recognition checkout system that lets customers complete everyday purchases with what the company calls a simple glance. The feature is being piloted in London from today using the Revolut Register terminal, ahead of a wider rollout of the terminal in due course.

When paying at a Revolut Register, customers tap Pay with Smile on screen to complete a face identity check, similar to unlocking a smartphone, which is verified against the identity checks completed when signing up to Revolut. Customers must actively opt in through their Revolut app settings, are not enrolled by default, and can revoke consent at any time. Revolut said facial recognition data is encrypted end-to-end and not stored by merchants.

The structural driver behind Pay with Smile is merchants' need to replace outdated, fragmented tills with faster checkout technology, as independent venues look to reduce friction at the point of sale without adding cost.

Revolut is offering 0 per cent processing fees on Pay with Smile transactions, which it said will help ease the burden on independent venues. London customers can trial the technology at Kiss the Hippo cafes in Bloomsbury, Chelsea and Soho from 24 to 26 September.

"By combining high-performance processing with facial recognition technology, we're replacing outdated, fragmented tills with a hyper-efficient checkout experience designed to solve consumer and merchant pain points," said Alex Codina, general manager of merchant payments at Revolut Business.

"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," said Alex Damgaci, managing director at Kiss the Hippo Coffee.

Revolut is privately held and headquartered in London, reporting group revenue of £4.52 billion (approximately €5.2 billion) and net income of £1.3 billion (approximately €1.5 billion) for 2025, with more than 12,200 employees globally.

For the sector, the pilot reflects growing experimentation with biometric payments as fintechs look to cut checkout friction for both customers and merchants, testing consumer comfort with facial recognition before wider commercial rollout.

Source: Yahoo Finance UK