Tencent to work with authorities to improve facial recognition for banking use

Dancers perform under a logo of Tencent Holdings Ltd at the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing, May 6, 2014. SHENZHEN - Chinese internet giant Tencent has reported progress garnering government support for facial recognition technology to be used for banking services. The arrangement will allow Tencent to work with police to improve the accuracy of facial recognition technology so customers won't need to visit a bank for verification purposes, the firm said. At the CeBIT technology fair held last month in Hanover, Germany, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's founder Jack Ma also offered a glimpse into how facial recognition could be used to make payments on smartphones. China's central bank is currently soliciting opinions on a draft rule that would allow people to open bank accounts remotely, a sign that regulators are accommodating changes brought about by the internet to the traditional banking sector long dominated by state lenders.