‘Alarm bells ringing’: You can soon pay for a coffee with your face. Should you?

August 13, 2026 — 9:35am

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Australians will soon be able to pay for coffee, shop, and earn loyalty points using nothing more than their face or hands, but a cybersecurity expert warns the risk to consumers’ privacy is “uniquely dangerous” if biometric data is hacked or stolen.

Eftpos operator Verifone has introduced new payment terminals embedded with biometric technology that can facilitate transactions at the checkout through facial and palm vein recognition.

The new suite of payment terminals, called Victa, contain two cameras: one to capture a photo of customers that is converted into a biometric ‘token’ and matched with the customer’s identity, and another infrared camera for palm vein detection.

“We see this as a new way to pay, complementary to what people already know today,” said Verifone head of product Ben Hughes. “This is a way that you would be able to identify someone at the point of sale.”

Customers are required to opt in for the biometric payment method, which sits alongside existing payment options like tap-and-go. Merchants that choose to adopt the new terminals, such as retailers or fast food companies, would........

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