Just smile to pay at this KFC restaurant in China

- A fresh and digitally connected experience for urban professionals

- Brings facial recognition payment solution to consumers for the first time globally

Yum China Holdings has launched a new restaurant concept, KPRO by KFC in Hangzhou, China - home of Alibaba. Designed to offer a fresh, seasonal menu to sophisticated diners, the concept harnesses digital technology to provide a fully immersive dining experience.

"We are excited to launch KPRO – an exciting and fresh new concept for young, tech savvy consumers who are keen to embrace new tastes and innovations," said Joey Wat, President and Chief Operating Officer of Yum China. "Developed to cater to China's burgeoning population of urban professionals, KPRO offers a creative, modern and seasonal menu with a wide range of dishes that are freshly made-to-order. The restaurant is also made for the digitally connected customers and integrates some of the latest technologies from mobile ordering to facial recognition payment."

The KPRO menu features seasonal produce and made-to-order salads, panini and roasted chicken, complemented by freshly squeezed fruit juice, gourmet coffee and premium Cremia ice cream. The store is designed with a "greenhouse" layout and an open kitchen.

A key feature of the new restaurant is the integration of Alipay's new "Smile to Pay" facial recognition payment solution, which enables customers to pay without the need to reach for their wallets. Alipay's payment technology utilises a multistep authentication process, including a facial scan and mobile phone number, to verify the identity of customers and facilitate payment. This is the first commercial application of the facial recognition payment technology globally.

"Yum China has a history of adopting innovative technologies to enhance in-store dining experience and we could think of no better place to pilot this advanced technology. Smile to Pay will bring another level of convenience for customers," said Jidong Chen, Ant Financial's Director of biometric identification technology.

Source: Yum China. 

"Elevating the customer experience through new design, flavours and technologies has always been central to our approach at KFC in China," said Johnson Huang, GM, KFC. "We are excited to partner with Alipay to bring the world's first commercial application of the facial recognition payment solution to our customers. With the adoption of the facial recognition payment solution, KPRO customers can experience this ground breaking technology while enjoying fresh and tasty meals prepared in our open kitchen."

In addition to facial recognition payment, KPRO incorporates other technologies to provide customers with a convenient and connected in-restaurant experience. With no traditional ordering counter, customers are able to 'skip the queue' by ordering at digital kiosks or using their mobile phones to scan QR codes and order at their tables. KPRO staff then deliver the freshly prepared food directly to the tables.

OCBC launches fingerprint-secured business banking mobile app

Source; OCBC. A finger is all that is needed to check business
account balances.

OCBC Bank has become the first Singapore bank to launch a business banking mobile app, the bank said. The OCBC Business Mobile Banking app, that uses biometric authentication, enables smartphone users to:

 View balances for business accounts, including current accounts and time deposits 

 Check the status of incoming and outgoing funds 

 View business debit card transactions. 

Business customers have indicated that they would like to perform the above three tasks while on the move, the bank shared, as they want to be in control of their company’s operating cashflow; have the assurance that payments are being made, and funds received; and get quick access to related information. Enquiries relating to the three tasks accounted for more than 15% of calls made to the Bank’s call centre for businesses, the OCBC Business Banking Commercial Service Centre, in 2015. 

The new app, featuring OCBC OneTouch which leverages Apple’s Touch ID technology, will allow Singapore-registered users of the Bank’s business Internet banking portal, Velocity@ocbc, to access their account balances and transactional activities using fingerprint recognition. OCBC estimates that over 120,000 customers will benefit from the app, which can be used anytime and anywhere, even overseas. 

Said Gregory Trotter, Head of Cash Management, Global Transaction Banking, OCBC Bank: “With banking information at their fingertips, this new OCBC app will empower business owners to make decisions on the go. 

"Our studies have shown a 30% increase in the number of calls from customers enquiring about their business account information in the last three years. The need to know their account balances and status of incoming and outgoing funds are clearly critical for business owners to effectively manage their day-to-day operations. Understanding this need, we developed this app to provide control, assurance and accessibility to our customers, which fits their business requirements as well.” 

Velocity@ocbc customer Fanny See, Chief Marketing Officer and co-founder of Detrack Systems said: “I like the simplicity and convenience that the new OCBC app offers. I can now check my company’s balances and the status of our payments and receipts – especially business debit card transactions – when I’m on the go. All it takes is the touch of a button and I’m on top of my company’s cashflow.” Detrack Systems developed a mobile app-based tracking system for logistics companies.

Interested?

OCBC OneTouch is available on Touch ID enabled Apple iPhones, such as the iPhone 5s and newer models that run on at least iOS 8 operating system (or later versions). To get started, customers need to download the OCBC Business Mobile Banking app from the Apple App Store. They will need to perform a one-time activation by keying in their Velocity@ocbc organisation ID, user ID and password, followed by a one-time password (OTP) sent via SMS or security token. Thereafter, within the app, customers need only to place their finger on the home button to view their account balances and transactional activities. 

The OCBC Business Mobile Banking app is also available for Android phone users on Google Play. Customers using Android phones will need to perform a two-factor authentication (2FA) using their security token or SMS-OTP to log in. 

Download the OCBC Business Mobile Banking app

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog post on Touch ID and OCBC's mobile banking and OCBC Securities apps

Hashtags: : #ocbcbank, #ocbcbusinessmobileapp, #ocbcbusinessbanking

Source; OCBC. A finger is all that is needed to check business account balances.