Banks eye adopting 'face-reading' ATMs: police

SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's financial authorities and private
lenders are again considering mounting a face-detection system on automated
teller machines as part of efforts to prevent crime, police said Friday.

The plan was reviewed at a meeting of crime prevention experts from the Financial
Supervisory Service, the Korea Federation of Banks and other private banks, the
National Police Agency said.
The system is aimed at preventing would-be thieves and robbers from covering
their faces with masks or hats while drawing money from other people's accounts.
An ATM installed with the system would automatically stop functioning when a
person using the machine with his or her face partially hidden is detected on
camera.
The system was put on trial service for two weeks at a lender in 2004 but was
later discarded due to additional installation costs of some 200,000 won (US$146)
per machine and because most banks are insured against ATM thefts.
The developer of the system has recently offered to cut the installation cost by
half if banks place orders for more than 10,000, according to police.
"It is an effective, preventive measure in staving off crime but hasn't been put
to proper use," police said.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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