Republic of Korea: Personal Information Protection Commission adopted preliminary adequacy decision on face payment service under Personal Information Protection Act

On 27 March 2024, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) adopted a preliminary adequacy decision approving Toss's "Face Payment" service under the Preliminary Adequacy Review system. The decision pertains to the utilisation of facial recognition technology for the purpose of payment authentication at offline merchant stores, necessitating initial identity verification through the use of official identification. The review confirmed compliance with personal information protection laws for electronic financial transactions. The system aims to reduce legal uncertainties by establishing approved data processing measures within the existing framework, alongside other regulatory mechanisms such as regulatory sandboxes.