Alipay is part of one of the world’s largest financial technology companies, the Ant Group. In 2017, Alipay inaugurated ‘Smile to Pay’, allowing shoppers in China to make purchases using facial recognition payment devices at checkouts. Its facial recognition technology obviated the need for cards, wallets and cell phones. While people across China are familiar with biometric technologies, facial recognition payment is still relatively new in the realm of in-store purchases. This article discusses the introduction of ‘Smile to Pay’ to Chinese consumers and the varied responses the technology elicited. I describe how potential users engaged, became accustomed to or otherwise steered clear of ‘Smile to Pay’. I explore the sets of vocabularies users deployed to make sense of this new technology, comparing them with those favoured by promotional materials and approaches. I suggest that the interaction of diverse perspectives on ‘Smile to Pay’ contributed to an ‘aestheticisation’ of biometrics. I also suggest that facial recognition payment technology provoked broader questions related to identity and personhood. Building on media content analysis and anonymised semi-structured interviews in Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai, this article offers a qualitative study of facial payment systems as they were being launched in quick service restaurants, malls and bakeries.
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