On Monday, January 13th, J.P. Morgan Payments, JP Morgan Chase & Co’s payments sector, announced the upcoming launch of two new proprietary payment terminals: the J.P. Morgan Paypad and the J.P. Morgan Pinpad.
The J.P. Morgan Paypad is a tablet point-of-sale device, while the Pinpad is a physical number pad that will come with a display. Each device will integrate in-store biometric authentication with the payment acceptance process, including facial recognition and an infrared palm vein camera–a type of biometric technology that captures and analyzes intricate vein patterns in a person’s palm. These authentication methods are included in addition to typical payment terminal technology, such as EMV chip, contactless, and QR code acceptance methods.
A Full-Stack Omnichannel Solution
The Paypad comes with an 8-inch high-resolution display, Wi-Fi and 5G cellular data connectivity options, and a rechargeable battery intended to last all day.
The devices are part of what J.P. Morgan Payments calls a full-stack omnichannel solution. The idea behind the payment solution provider launching its own hardware is to “deliver seamless shopping experiences” to consumers. By streamlining transactions through the use of proprietary technology, J.P. Morgan Payments seeks to improve the payment experience–both speeding up transactions and making them more secure.
Biometric Authentication is the Future
The move to release hardware with biometric capabilities is also part of an undeniable trend in the payments industry. In 2023, PYMNTS Intelligence, in collaboration with Amazon Web Services, released a report exploring various aspects of digital payments, including the growing use of biometric authentication among consumers.
In a survey of a census-balanced panel of 3,278 U.S. consumers conducted from July 20th to the 25th, 51% reported using biometric authentication methods when making online purchases in the previous 30 days. About 46% reported using biometric authentication to validate their payments more than once a week, compared to 22% who used these methods once a month or less and the approximately 30% who used them more than once a month and less than once a week.
The facial recognition technology offered by J.P. Morgan Payments new terminals is, next to fingerprint scanning, the most widely used method of biometric authentication. Almost 28% of consumers who used biometrics relied on facial recognition in the previous 30 days, compared to nearly 27% using fingerprint scanning, 2% using eye recognition, and 6% using voice recognition. Among consumers who reported using facial recognition the most often, 58% reported using it more than once a week.
With these numbers in mind, releasing hardware utilizing in-store biometric authentication methods is a savvy way for J.P. Morgan Payments to stay ahead of the curve with the latest cutting-edge payment technology. Both products are scheduled to be released domestically in the latter half of 2025, with an international release planned later.