Yen could be replaced by fingerprints for tourists in Japan

Tourists in Japan might soon be able to forgo the rigmarole of changing their sterling to yen, with a new system being launched allowing fingerprints to be used to pay for items.

The system will be launched this summer, with Yomiuri reporting its stated goal is to make shopping and checking into hotels quicker and easier for foreign visitors.

Visitors will first register themselves at an airport or other public location, have their fingerprints taken and hand over their credit card details to link a payment method to the fingerprint.

They will then be able to make purchases from a number of stores by placing two fingers on a scanning device. The tax refund scheme for overseas visitors will be automatically tied in with the system.

It will also act as a faster way for overseas tourists to identify themselves at hotel check-in, compared with the current method of handing over passports.

In the first phase, 300 souvenir shops, restaurants and hotels will be part of the system in a number of popular tourist areas.

Officials remained hopeful the system could be fully launched throughout the country by 2020, in time for the Olympic and Paralympic games.