Biometrics on the menu as bars safeguard customer tracing data

RESTAURANTS and pubs are turning to biometrics and other technology over fears using pen and paper is not enough to keep test-and-trace data secure.

In Manchester’s Northern Quarter, vein scanning technology is being used in venues such as The Alchemist, a cocktail bar and restaurant chain.

Users can register their contact details for test-and-trace to their vein map through an app called FinGo.

This is then used to sign in when they visit venues. When entering a venue or sitting at a table, they place their finger over a scanner, which registers their vein pattern.

If the venue later experiences an outbreak, the restaurant can contact customers using the app.

With restaurants required to record details and contact information of customers, hospitality venues have been looking for ways to do this digitally, rather than resorting to a pen and paper guest book. There are also concerns that people leaving their phone numbers in address books could make them at risk of stalking.

Simon Binns, chief commercial officer at FinGo, said: “A lot of it is pen and paper. A lot of it is inconsistent; it is crying out for a technology for storing that data.”

Thermal imaging cameras, which use infrared images to check for fever, are being installed at restaurants including The Ivy. The cameras can scan a customer’s forehead to check their temperature. In Manchester, beer house Albert’s Schloss is also using thermal checks.

In America, Clearview AI, a facial recognition company, has offered its face-tracking technology for contacttracing to US states. Meanwhile, PopID, a company that provides facial recognition powered ordering terminals, is being trialled by Subway.