[Digital Today reporter Ji-young Lee] Toss is continuing to expand its facial recognition payment service, FacePay. It appears to be opting for a head-on approach to the recent controversy surrounding the FacePay payment process. After running an experiential event at the Busan International Rock Festival, which draws tens of thousands of visitors, it is also preparing a separate 50 percent discount promotion ahead of passing 500,000 FacePay terminals.

Toss will recruit 30 people for the "Pepe Advance Team" from Sept. 17 to 25. Selected users will make payments with FacePay at the 2026 Busan International Rock Festival, held from Oct. 2 to 4, and produce related content.

FacePay-supported terminals are currently nearing 500,000. Toss is also preparing a separate event to mark the milestone by discounting 50 percent of FacePay payment amounts. This is a promotion separate from the Busan International Rock Festival, and the specific start date has not yet been decided.

The Pepe Advance Team will receive FacePay discount coupons worth up to 50,000 won. In the first round, participants will get a 30,000 won discount coupon and special Toss merchandise, and in the second round they can receive a 20,000 won discount coupon. Those who post Reels content during the event period can receive the maximum benefits. Winners will be announced on the 28th.

The Busan International Rock Festival is the country's longest-running rock music festival, which began in 2000. In 2024, it drew about 60,000 people over three days, the largest crowd on record. It was also selected as the "2024 Best Cultural Tourism Festival" evaluated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Toss plans to broaden its offline touchpoints with users by linking FacePay payment trials and content production at events that draw many customers. In particular, tying the Pepe Advance Team to Reels production is seen as a strategy to spread positive perceptions of FacePay based on real usage experiences.

EXPLAINING CONCERNS OVER THE PAYMENT PROCESS

The event is also drawing attention because recruitment began at a time when concerns were recently raised about the FacePay payment process. Still, the Busan International Rock Festival collaboration and the FacePay promotion had been scheduled from earlier, and Toss also explained that the event was not arranged to respond to the recent issue.

Earlier, a case in a cafe in Seoul was shared through online communities and media reports in which a nearby staff member's face was recognized first during a customer's attempt to pay with FacePay, resulting in the payment being made through the staff member's account. The incident raised concerns about FacePay's safety.

Toss said it was not an error of facial recognition technology mistakenly identifying another person. A Toss official explained that the staff member's face first passed in front of the camera while helping the customer with the payment, after which the customer presented their face, and that the staff member did not realize the payment had been made through their account.

Toss said it can check the payment screen from the incident only if a user files a safe compensation request, but no request was filed, limiting verification after the fact. Toss allows users to set up secondary authentication if they want, and it also operates a "safe compensation system" that compensates losses if fraudulent payments occur.

EXPANSION CONTINUES AS TRIALS AND INFRASTRUCTURE GROW

Toss plans to continue expanding FacePay to broaden user touchpoints and raise service awareness.

The expansion appears to be proceeding by combining experiential marketing that lets users try FacePay directly and expanding infrastructure where actual payments can be made.

It is also pairing expanded trial opportunities and usage locations, including separate discount promotions to encourage first-time use by new users. It is maintaining its existing strategy of pushing ahead with user perception improvements and service expansion while confronting concerns raised about the payment process.

A Toss official said, "The goal of branding is that FacePay itself provides a convenient and seamless experience," adding, "We need to improve perceptions of this experience, and we are still in a situation where we need to expand the service further."