PopID

PopID is a provider of facial recognition-based access control (PopEntry) and payment (PopPay) solutions. The company is a subsidiary of Cali Group, an investment holding company with ownership stakes in several food industry tech startups.

Following the rollout of PopEntry, the company planned to deploy PopPay throughout local businesses after trialing the technology in sister company CaliBurger (a premium burger chain), which claims to have substantially reduced both order time and wait time. The payment method enables customers to view their past orders and access payment methods using facial recognition and can be used in drive-thrus, in-venue kiosks, display screens at the counter, and through hand-held android devices. Users enroll by taking a selfie through a store's app or the PopID website and linking their payment methods. The technology converts facial photos into encrypted templates stored in the PopID cloud, which are then matched against templates during transactions.

Key customers and partnerships

In November 2021, the company partnered with SoftBank for deployment at Wendy's First Kitchen locations in Japan. In March 2022, PopID partnered with ASM Global to deploy PopPay at the Pechanga Stadium in San Diego, California, allowing users to pay with a selfie. In April 2022, PopID partnered with Visa to launch facial payment acceptance in the Middle East, with Costa Coffee, MMI, and grocery chain Géant as the first merchants. In February 2023, the company partnered with Network International to enable face biometric payments in Carrefour stores in the UAE. In August 2024, the company expanded its partnership with JP Morgan Payments to launch facial recognition-based payments in the US, following its pilot (palm and facial recognition) in the US. South Florida Motorsports signed on as a pilot customer, and the roll-out was extended to national restaurant chain Whataburger. As of December 2024, PopID's technology was also being implemented at Steak 'N Shake's 300 locations in the Midwest and at CaliExpress in Pasadena.