AEON Credit Launches FacePay, Letting KL Shoppers Pay for Groceries With a Face Scan
Shoppers at one Kuala Lumpur supermarket can now pay for their groceries without taking out a phone, card or wallet. AEON Credit Service (M) Bhd has switched on FacePay, a facial recognition payment option inside its AEON Wallet app, at selected self-checkout counters at AEON Supermarket KL Midtown. The company calls it Malaysia’s first FacePay payment experience, and it opened an AI-themed flagship branch in the same mall on the same day.
Key facts
- FacePay went live on 5 November 2026 at selected self-checkout counters at AEON Supermarket KL Midtown, and only there for now.
- Payments are charged to the customer’s AEON Wallet or an eligible AEON card; FacePay is optional, and the wallet and physical card still work as before.
- Setup is a one-time step in the AEON Wallet app: enrol your face and create a six-digit Face Code.
- Liveness detection is meant to stop someone using a photo, and the Face Code is required for transactions above a set limit.
- A promotion running until 31 December 2026 gives 1 extra AEON Point per RM1 spent with FacePay, from a total pool of 300,000 points.
How it works at the till
Customers first set up FacePay under the Profile section of the AEON Wallet app. AEON Wallet is the e-wallet run by AEON Credit, the consumer finance arm of the Japanese retail group in Malaysia, which also issues AEON credit and prepaid cards. Once the face is enrolled, the shopper picks FacePay on a supported self-checkout screen and looks into the camera. The system recognises the AEON member, and if the person has more than one eligible payment product, they choose which account or card to charge before confirming.
A push notification arrives in the app after each successful payment, and the transaction shows up in the wallet’s history. AEON says the system uses liveness detection, a check that a real, present person is in front of the camera rather than a printed photo or a screen. For larger purchases, the customer must also key in the six-digit Face Code. AEON has not published the exact amount that triggers the code, nor named the company that supplies the facial recognition technology.
To get people trying it, AEON is offering one bonus AEON Point for every RM1 spent with FacePay until the end of the year. Combined with existing card rewards, that can add up to six times the usual points on groceries. The bonus is first come, first served, and points are credited within 30 working days. Eligible users are AEON Wallet Basic and Premium account holders and selected AEON Member Plus credit and prepaid cardholders.
What it means for Malaysians
- For shoppers: paying at the self-checkout becomes faster when your hands are full, but it is entirely opt-in. Anyone uncomfortable with sharing a face scan can keep paying by QR, card or wallet as usual. It is worth reading AEON’s terms on how face data is stored and how to delete it before signing up.
- For retailers: this is a closed-loop setup, meaning it only works with AEON’s own wallet and cards at AEON’s own store. That makes it easier to pilot, but it is not yet a network that other merchants can plug into the way they can with DuitNow QR, Malaysia’s national QR payment standard run by PayNet.
- For banks and e-wallets: biometric checkout adds a new front in Malaysia’s crowded payments race, where players compete on convenience and rewards. Face data is personal data under Malaysia’s Personal Data Protection Act, so any wider rollout will be watched closely on privacy and fraud controls, especially as authorities push e-wallet providers to tighten scam safeguards.
An AI branch to go with it
Alongside FacePay, AEON Credit opened its first AI Flagship Branch at AEON Mall KL Midtown. An “AI Greeter” welcomes visitors and points them to the right service, private “Smart Pods” let customers browse financial products on a digital panel or talk to a live agent online, and a members’ lounge offers drinks and space for community events. Deputy Chief Executive Officer Lee Tyan Jen said the launches show how technology can make everyday financial services easier, safer and more rewarding. The company describes KL Midtown as a pilot site for new technology before it reaches more customers. AEON Credit runs 54 branches and service centres across the country.
What to watch
- Whether FacePay moves beyond KL Midtown to other AEON supermarkets, and how quickly.
- The Face Code limit and data-handling terms, and whether customers find them reassuring enough to sign up.
- Whether other Malaysian retailers, banks or e-wallets respond with their own biometric checkout pilots.
Related: Malaysia’s e-wallet war, explained · How Malaysia’s payment system works
Sources: SoyaCincau (November 2026); DagangNews (November 2026); BusinessToday Malaysia (November 2026)
