Fingerprints to replace currency for tourists visiting Japan

#JAPAN will soon introduce a hassle-free way of changing money with the launch of a system that will replace currency notes with fingerprints. 

The government is planning to launch the system this summer.

Foreign visitors will need to register their details, which would include fingerprints and credit card information, at airports or other public verification locations. As registered tourists, they will then be able to buy products with taxes automatically deducted from selected stores by placing a finger on a reader device.

The fingerprint system will also be used as a substitute for presenting passports when checking into hotels, which is currently a legal obligation for overseas tourists.

In its first test phase, the project will involve 300 souvenir shops, restaurants, hotels, and other establishments used by tourists.

The fingerprint experiment is part of a wider effort by the Japanese government to encourage visitors from overseas to visit the capital in the run up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Officials are hoping to launch the system throughout the country – including Tokyo – by 2020, with as many as 40 million overseas annual visitors expected by that year.

The new system will also enable the government to analyse the spending habits of foreign tourists, with anonymous data managed by a government-led consultative body. The data obtained from the project will be used to help government officials create effective tourism management policies.

But one concern among officials is that some tourists might be reluctant to provide fingerprint information voluntarily due to fears relating to privacy issues. 

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