Asian Tech Press (Dec 10) -- Japanese banking giant Resona Holdings reportedly formed a cross-industry association on Thursday involving 31 companies to discuss and share know-how on developing a facial recognition payment system.

Resona has established a consortium of 31 Japanese companies across a range of industries such as railroads and retailers in an effort to build a foundation that allows for common use of facial recognition payments, Kyodo News reported.

The banking group plans to put the payment system into use in banking procedures such as money transfers as soon as 2022.

The joint project is also headed by Panasonic System Solutions Japan Co., a unit of electronics giant Panasonic Corp. which has expertise in facial recognition technology, credit card firm JCB Co. and Dai Nippon Printing Co. Other initial members joining the alliance include the West Japan Railway Company (JR West), Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, and Seven & I Holdings.