Wink to demo face-based loyalty and payments at NRA Show 2026

By AI, Created 4:29 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – Wink will show biometric identity experiences on Elo kiosks and POS terminals at the National Restaurant Association Show 2026 in Chicago from May 16-19. The demo is aimed at restaurants and retailers that want faster checkout, automatic loyalty recognition and more personalized guest interactions without replacing existing devices.

Why it matters: - Wink is targeting restaurant and retail operators that want to cut friction at checkout and improve loyalty engagement. - The demo shows how face-based identity can plug into existing Elo hardware instead of requiring a new device rollout. - The use case matters most in high-traffic environments where speed, throughput and personalization compete for attention.

What happened: - Wink will showcase its biometric identity technology in the Elo booth #6045 at the National Restaurant Association Show 2026. - The show runs May 16-19 at McCormick Place in Chicago. - The demonstration will run on camera-equipped Elo kiosks, POS terminals and customer-facing displays. - Elo is now part of Zebra Technologies.

The details: - The Wink platform will show biometric-driven check-in, loyalty recognition and streamlined checkout inside self-service and point-of-sale workflows. - Users can identify themselves with a glance to access loyalty profiles, initiate transactions and personalize the experience. - Wink describes the interaction model as a “look-and-go” experience. - The demo is built to show how biometric interactions can fit into quick-service restaurant and retail environments. - Elo’s broader booth will also cover front-of-house and back-of-house restaurant workflows, including self-order kiosks, POS systems, kitchen display systems, digital engagement and supply chain. - WinkPay president Matt Marino said the Elo partnership makes biometric identity easier to deploy and lets merchants and ISVs deliver faster, smarter transactions without buying new hardware. - Elo payment partnership manager Kelsey DeMarcus said Wink’s biometric identity platform can help operators reduce friction, increase throughput and build deeper customer relationships at the point of interaction. - WinkPay is the SDK solution from Wink for merchants, ISVs and ISOs that want to build branded experiences on top of Wink’s biometric identity and payments platform. - Wink says its technology supports secure, AI-powered facial identification for customer recognition and authentication. - Wink says the platform powers faster payments, automatic loyalty recognition and deeper customer engagement across retail, restaurants, hospitality and grocery. - More information is available at wink.cloud.

Between the lines: - Wink is positioning biometric identity as an add-on to existing commerce infrastructure, not a full system replacement. - The partnership with Elo gives Wink a live retail and restaurant setting to show how facial recognition can reduce manual steps at the point of sale. - The pitch is as much about operational efficiency as it is about customer personalization.

What’s next: - Attendees can see the demo live at Elo booth #6045 during NRA Show 2026. - The exhibition could help Wink and Elo gauge interest from restaurant, retail, grocery and hospitality operators looking for biometric checkout and loyalty tools. - The demonstration may also inform how quickly biometric identity moves from pilot-style curiosity to broader deployment in commerce settings.