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LG Pay could maybe use your face to send mobile payments

The LG G6 flagship phone's face unlock feature could tie into LG Pay.

Gordon Gottsegen CNET contributor
Gordon Gottsegen is a tech writer who has experience working at publications like Wired. He loves testing out new gadgets and complaining about them. He is the ghost of all failed Kickstarters.
Gordon Gottsegen
2 min read
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We've heard that LG will be releasing its own mobile payment platform on the LG G6 to rival the likes of Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay, but it could get a leg up on the competition. LG Pay may use facial recognition as an extra layer of payment authentication, according to The Investor. If this happens, the LG G6 could be the first premium smartphone that can use your face to buy a soda.

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Android Pay is already available on LG phones, but LG is planning on releasing their own mobile payment service.

Juan Garzón/CNET

The global mobile payment market is expected to reach over $780 billion (or £624 billion, AU$1.04 trillion) this year, so mobile payments are a pretty big deal. LG plans to get in on the action by releasing its own payment service this year, but it'll have to catch up to the other big brands that already have tens of millions of people on board. But adding facial recognition, a feature that LG's competitors don't have, could help LG Pay stand out.

If this comes to be, security will remain one big question. Apple Pay already uses your fingerprint to authenticate a purchase, while the Galaxy S8 will use both fingerprint and iris scanning for Samsung Pay. While the Galaxy S8 has facial recognition software to unlock the phone, you won't be able to use it to buy goods. Samsung considers it convenient but not secure enough to loop into Samsung Pay.

LG reportedly partnered with Oez, a facial-recognition firm, to add support for recognizing faces. With LG Pay confirmed for a release in Q3, the LG G6 could get facial recognition as early as June -- though we won't officially know if face-unlocking would integrate with LG Pay, or simply be one more way to unlock the LG G6.

LG did not respond to a request for comment.

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