Eurostar is looking at using facial verification for business passengers to do away with the need for passport checks.

The train service has teamed up with technology company iProov for a 'first of its kind' trial later this year.

The system would offer Eurostar passengers at St Pancras International station

a 'simpler, easier and faster experience' of check-in and UK passport control.

The trial will invite a group of Eurostar business passengers to check in and verify their identities online from home, before leaving for their trip. This accelerated pre-boarding option will involve linking their ticket to a simple scan of their passport, followed by a brief biometric face scan.

When they arrive at St Pancras International, passengers taking part in the trial will have access to a biometric check that will verify that their physical face matches that of the person that completed the remote check-in.

The concept is being brought to train travel as part of the 'First of a Kind' programme run by Innovate UK, funded by the Department for Transport.

The online iProov facial biometric check defends against sophisticated synthetic image technology being used to enable impersonation and is key to the security of the end-to-end system. iProov checks that the user completing the remote check-in at home is a real person, rather than a photo, video, or mask, and that they are completing the remote process in real-time.

iProov has been working on biometric traveller verification projects for the Department of Homeland Security in the US since 2018. iProov is also a partner to global banks, government bodies and other organizations worldwide, working to increase trust online and increase digital economies by verifying that individuals are who they claim to be.