Taking security to a new level, Macau is stepping up security checks at ATMs in the Asian gambling¹ hub by requiring facial scans and ID card verification for cash withdrawals² using China's main payment network.

 

澳门将ATM取现安全检查升级到新标准：用大陆银联卡取现将需要脸部扫描以及身份证验证。

 

The government said in a statement late Sunday that the new measures would eventually be rolled out to all automated³ teller⁴ machines in the former Portuguese⁵ colony, especially those inside casinos or nearby. It didn't give a specific timeframe.

 

The specially⁶ administered region, an hour by ferry from Hong Kong, is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal.

 

The measures apply to users of UnionPay bank cards issued in mainland China, in a sign that authorities are targeting mainland visitors. UnionPay is China's homegrown payment network rivalling the Visa and MasterCard systems.

 

It's the latest move by authorities in Macau and Beijing as they try to stem the outflow of capital from the mainland. Officials have already tightened⁷ up scrutiny⁸ of junket operators, the middleman who act as an informal banking⁹ channel by lending money to mainland visitors to Macau and later collecting debts.

 

The announcement came just ahead of a visit by Zhang Dejiang, the Chinese Communist Party official responsible for overseeing the city. Zhang, who arrived Monday in Macau for a three-day visit, said the city was facing a "significant phase in its development."

 

Macau is the world's biggest gambling market and its monthly casino revenues have expanded for nine straight months after a two-year slump¹⁰. The city's casinos have raked in $10.4 billion so far this year.

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