AmEx Experimenting With Facial Recognition Tech

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After a tough 2015 so far, American Express Co. is experimenting. In particular, AmEx is taking a closer look at facial recognition and wearable technology with an eye toward developing new capabilities for some of its mobile apps. Those products could be used to reach out to the traditionally underserved population.

“There’s a large population better served by something other than credit or charge cards,” said Neal Sample, president of the Enterprise Growth group at American Express, according to The Wall Street Journal. AmEx worked with Walmart last year to develop the Bluebird prepaid, reloadable card and independently introduced a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payment system called Serve.

AmEx – which lost its largest corporate partner, Costco, in early 2015 – is now looking to diversify its business growth by leveraging emerging technology to reach out to new consumers in new segments. Mobile users represent one segment the company wants to target, as is the demographic of those who use credit and charge cards.

AmEx’s developers are working to enhance both the mobile products they offer and the types of devices those products can be used on. For example, the company is currently building to the soon to be released Apple Watch.

“We want to do the minimum amount of work to demonstrate whether a leap of faith to full development is worth taking,” Mr. Sample said.

Facial recognition technology is one of the things gaining traction in the lab.

AmEx’s David Baldie is trying to figure out how to capture and authenticate face images accurately and quickly on a mobile device, given that facial recognition has a potential to be more secure than usernames and passwords.

Challenges have emerged: user error in working the camera has shaped up to be a problem, as has the transfer of the image to the authentication server and back, given the need for that process to be very fast.

The technology is not ready for launch, but it’s getting closer.

“If we bring it forward, we would follow the full rigor of the development process,” Mili Doshi, director of mobile product development and innovation at American Express Enterprise Growth, told the WSJ. That includes extensive risk and security review, she said.