The trend towards deploying facial biometrics to provide contactless payments is becoming more pronounced in Asia. In China, for instance, more than 100 million people signed up for a face payment system in 2020, according to Nikkei Asia. Alipay and WeChat Pay subscribers can use the systems by simply registering images of their faces. Facial recognition is so widely used in China where banks, airports and hotels are all trying to verify people's identities by analyzing their faces. 

Singapore also attached facial verification in the national identification database. The function is called SingPass Face Verification. This technology is being rolled out to the city-state’s SingPass digital identity scheme, offering access to no less than 400 online services, including tax declarations and public housing applications. 

Facial recognition systems are a sub-field of AI technology that can identify individuals from images and video based on analysis of their facial features. However, Asia's wide adoption of facial recognition raises privacy concerns. China's 315 Gala, a TV programme broadcasts on March 15 every year to mark World Consumer Rights Day, exposed that cameras, powered by facial recognition technologies, were installed at some stores of domestic brands and collected massive information from customers. 

According to BBC, a survey by a Beijing research institute indicates that 74% of the respondents preferred to use traditional ID methods over the tech to verify their face identity. 6,152 respondents were concerned that the biometric data could be hacked or otherwise leaked since facial recognition systems were being rolled out across the country. 

In response, ensuring companies keep their promises to customers about how they use and handle biometric data will continue to be a high priority for facial recognition adoption. Consumers need to be vigilant about privacy violations and understand that even facial recognition is an advanced technology, it is slowly normalizing surveillance and eroding our privacy. Meanwhile, governments need to establish public facial recognition systems and biometric data regulations to curb facial recognition abuses. Regulations should include a ban on providing personal information to third parties without users’ consent. A comprehensive legal framework is likely to bring countries closer to establishing privacy in the digital era. 

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