Panasonic and PopID Offer Face Pay in the Drive-Thru

Panasonic Corporation of North America  and PopID, a Cali Group company, formed a marketing partnership that will bring facial recognition ordering and payment processes to both the restaurant and retail industries. With the recent closure of restaurant dining rooms across the U.S., drive-thru and pick-up services have become primary channels for the restaurant industry to continue operations.

Over the last several years, PopID has been deploying and refining its technology, which allows guests to be recognized at the kiosk, view their previous orders and loyalty account, and "Pay with their Face." Some regional and national restaurant chains now using PopID technology include CaliBurger, Deli Time, Dairi-O, Port of Subs, Plant Power, Belcampo, and Bojangles. Recently, PopID expanded its capabilities with the launch of its face pay wallet, called "PopPay," in a format to be used for contact-free payment at drive-thrus. The benefits of the platform include:   

1. Safety and Wellness. When PopPay is used at the drive-thru or on a payment terminal at the counter with a cashier taking an order, there is less opportunity for pathogens to be transferred between guests and restaurant staff.

2. Increased Throughput in Dining Rooms and Drive-Thrus. At the Panasonic self-ordering kiosk with PopID, guests will be able to see their past orders and can quickly reorder the same items on the menu. This substantially reduces order time and enhances the customer experience. At the drive-thru, in addition to PopID login enabling speedy reordering, PopPay reduces transaction times and increases throughput by eliminating the need to transfer cash and credit cards at the payment window.  

3. Increased Loyalty Program Participation. With PopID, guests are able to sign into their merchant rewards accounts using just their face, eliminating the need to look up their account by email or phone number. As a result, participation in such programs increases. The same sales boosts are expected when guests use PopID to login and see their past orders on digital menu boards at the drive-thru.  

4. Increased Sales. When guests use PopID to login and see their ordering history on the Panasonic self-ordering kiosks, operators see a 3-4% increase in average ticket size for kiosk orders, as compared to when guests do not use PopID. 

5. Lower Payment Processing Costs. PopPay reduces payment processing fees for restaurants and retailers, resulting in increased free cash flow.  

Under the terms of the agreement between the parties, PopID and PopPay will be fully integrated into the Panasonic ClearConnect Kiosk application, and Panasonic will have preferential rights in the kiosk market. Additionally, Panasonic will jointly integrate PopID's PopPay solution into drive-thru systems and payment terminals. The Panasonic ClearConnect Kiosk offering is a turnkey solution inclusive of hardware, software, UI/UX Design, deployment, and support services.