Finally, the world’s online and mobile payment platform Alipay along with Wukong Car Rental, rolled out a new blockchain-based innovation to eliminate the tiresome car rental process. Alipay uses blockchain to allow drivers to complete the whole process of renting a car within two minutes through facial recognition.

Unmanned Kiosk was Introduced in Kunming, China

The first unmanned kiosk in the country was introduced in Kunming, China, on January 13^th.

According to the reports of East Money, the upcoming Spring Festival or Chinese New Year on January 25^th will drive a high demand for car rental or self-driving tours. With the help of the unmanned kiosk, the customers can drive off in the rental car following their interaction with the machine.

The recent model that is powered by the face recognition payment system of Alipay can complete the whole process even without the help of manual car inspection or attendant. In fact, the customers have nothing to worry about bringing credit cards or ID cards. All they need to do is to swipe their face to trigger the transaction.

Furthermore, customers who own a 550 or more Sesame credit score have an opportunity to waive the deposit. The said system is also designed to prevent any transaction disputes and effectively track the car rental process.

The unmanned kiosk found at Kunming Changsui International Airport lets the customers use mobile phones in placing an order by launching the Alipay app. Then, they can swipe their face at the machine. Once the order is confirmed, a driver will then choose particular features for the car before unlocking the car doors via smartphone.

The said blockchain-based car rental service was reported to cover the entire Yunnan Province. That is to help President Xi fulfill his goal of becoming the blockchain technology leader in the world.

With this car rental service innovation, many people remembered about Hertz. Back in 2018, the company announced the Fast Lane platform, which is designed to speed the car rental process in just a matter of 30 seconds or even less by using face and fingerprint recognition kiosks in different US airports. The said car rental service is enjoyed by many CLEAR program travelers and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program members.

Can This Impact Privacy?

Kneron CEO Albert Liu said, “This shows the threat to the privacy of users with sub-par facial recognition that is masquerading as “AI.” The technology is available to fix these issues, but firms have not upgraded it. They are taking shortcuts at the expense of security.”

Apart from the risks of identity fraud and facial technology flaws, some people also wonder if this new system can impact their privacy.

But, the system of Alipay integrates both the credit ratings and biometric data, and are all tied to bank accounts.

Frederik Bussler gave his opinion on that note by saying: “To trust governments with complete access to the information of every individual is no less than letting them play God, which is beyond unethical—it’s evil, wrapped in the guise of a cool new technology that offers convenience and can help catch the bad guys.”