Verifone brings biometric payment devices to Australia

Verifone is bringing biometric-enabled payment devices to Australia, making it one of the first Asia-Pacific markets to receive the technology.

Its Victa range supports facial recognition and palm-vein verification at checkout, allowing enrolled customers to verify their identity by presenting their face or palm at the terminal.

Victa is being positioned as Australia's first payment device with built-in biometric functions. The feature will sit alongside existing payment options rather than replace them, with card, phone and PIN transactions still available.

Biometric use will be optional for consumers. Customers must enrol through a participating provider, such as a merchant, digital wallet or bank, and give consent during that process before they can use the feature at the point of sale.

At checkout, customers choose the biometric option and present their face or palm for verification. Their enrolled biometric profile is managed by the service provider through which they signed up.

The move comes as payment companies look for new ways to combine identity checks, loyalty schemes and transactions at the till. Biometric verification can also support loyalty check-in, allowing merchants to link payments and rewards without relying on a physical loyalty card.

"Australians are used to tapping a card or a phone to pay for the things they want and need. Paying with a smile is the next step: a checkout that is secure and connected," said Kristy Gregory, Head of Strategic Partners at Verifone.

Gregory said consumers are already familiar with biometric verification in other parts of daily life.

"Verifone's goal is to make the checkout experience faster, easier and safer for consumers and retailers. People already use biometrics to unlock phones, access apps and confirm payments online. We're giving customers that same choice at the point of sale," Gregory said.

Platform approach

Beyond biometrics, the Victa range is designed to support other software and services on the payment device itself. The platform can run applications for loyalty, ordering, split payments, donations and third-party business software.

Verifone is also using the launch to underline its broader strategy for the Victa family across different retail settings. The line-up includes devices for portable and mobile use, fixed checkout lanes, merchant-facing point-of-sale systems and unattended environments such as kiosks, vending, transit and parking.

The same platform is intended to serve a wide range of merchants, from small businesses to large retailers, as well as sectors where identity or age verification may be relevant.

Ben Hughes, Head of Product for Asia Pacific at Verifone, said developers can build services directly onto the system.

"Victa runs on Verifone's secure operating system, so third-party developers can build value-added services directly onto the platform," Hughes said.

He pointed to an earlier rollout in New Zealand.

"We're already seeing this in New Zealand, across loyalty applications, alternative payment methods, donations and on-device apps. Victa isn't just a payment device - it's a business tool," Hughes said.

Device range

The Victa Mini is aimed at pop-up retail, kerbside service and smaller spaces. Victa Mobile and Victa Portable are intended for in-aisle selling and other higher-traffic settings where staff need to move around with the payment device.

For fixed checkout points, Verifone offers Victa Register as a merchant-facing point-of-sale device with a larger touchscreen, while Victa Lane is a customer-facing terminal designed for in-lane use on its own or with the register unit.

For self-service and harsher operating conditions, it is offering Victa Unattended for kiosks, vending, transit and parking, along with a ruggedised mobile version for more demanding use.

The devices support PCI PTS 7.x, point-to-point encryption and tokenisation. Verifone also highlighted accessibility features such as haptic feedback and audio cues, along with hardware details including batteries rated for at least 12 hours and construction using 60% recycled plastics.

Australian merchants will be able to access the Victa family through Verifone's banking and acquiring partners in the coming months.