Facial recognition at Macau ATMs goes live in bid to stem capital flight
Technology in use at more than half of city’s cash machines
Finance chiefs in the former Portuguese enclave announced that 680 of the 1,300 ATM machines in the city were now equipped with what monetary and banking chiefs described as “Know Your Customer” technology, which they unveiled in May. The technology has been compared to measures depicted in the 2002 futuristic film Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise.
The new cash dispensers are to scan millions of bank card users at ATMs across Macau in an unprecedented move by mainland authorities to tackle money laundering and capital flight – the rapid flow of money out of the country in contravention of strict currency controls. The scanning only applies to holders of China UnionPay cards issued on the mainland.
A statement from the office of Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong Vai-tac, issued at the weekend, said: “As of June 26, 680 ATM machines were equipped with this technology and went live. Holders of UnionPay bank cards issued by banks in the interior of the country, before collecting money from them, need to verify their identity through facial recognition.” It added that the verification did not apply to holders of cards “issued in Macau and in other regions”.