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No sunglasses, no hats — and definitely, no balaclavas

As South Korea prepares to roll out facial recognition software on ATMs, users of the machines are being advised to be recognizable.

August 21, 2015

Who's behind those Foster Grants? If you're in South Korea, your ATM will want to know. 

South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service will begin rolling out facial recognition software on ATMs in October, and it's advising users of these machines that they'll have to remove sunglasses and hats so that the software can match their face with an image on file before they initiate a transaction.

According to a report by South Korean publication Chosun Ilbo, 100 ATM locations with histories of fraud and theft will get the new facial recognition software first, but that it will eventually be installed on ATMs nationwide.

News about the use of facial recognition software on ATMs has been plentiful of late: In April, Chinese partners Tzekwan and Tsinghua University announced that they had co-developed the world's first market-ready ATM with facial ID; last week, Taiwan's CTBC Bank announced that it was piloting the technology for cardless ATM transactions; and just this week, First Tech Federal Credit Union in California announced a pilot of facial and fingerprint ID for online purchases via smartphone.