Tobu Department Store Ikebukuro Adds Face Payment, a Japan First
Tobu Department Store's Ikebukuro flagship will accept face-recognition payments via the SAKULaLa platform from the 19th, the first department store in Japan to do so.
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giftdetect· the right gift in minutesTobu Department Store and Tobu Railway will introduce face-recognition payments at the Tobu Department Store Ikebukuro flagship on the 19th. The service runs on the biometric platform SAKULaLa and is the first of its kind at a department store.
How it works
Shoppers must first register as a SAKULaLa member and enter both credit card details and facial data. At the register, they tell the cashier they will pay with SAKULaLa, type all or part of their registered phone number and choose which credit card to use. The payment is then complete.
The main appeal is that customers do not need to take out a wallet or smartphone. If a Tobu Card is registered with SAKULaLa, TOBU Points are also credited on purchases.
Where and what next
The service covers every floor of the Ikebukuro store except some areas such as event spaces. Next, Tobu plans to bring it to the Tobu Department Store Funabashi branch as part of a push to expand SAKULaLa use.
SAKULaLa is a biometric platform that Hitachi and Tobu Railway have offered since 2024. It has been deployed at Tobu Railway and some Tobu Store locations, and the department store rollout extends it into a new retail format.
To mark the launch, a TOBU Points campaign is running. Customers who register a Tobu Card with SAKULaLa and pay at the Ikebukuro store earn up to 10,000 points, depending on how much they spend, on purchases made through December 25.
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