London: In Steven Spielberg's 2002 film Minority Report, Tom Cruise, playing a character on the run, is confronted by a retail store that scans his retina and immediately begins offering him products to buy.

That future, thanks to our increasing acceptance of biometrics used in fingerprint or facial ID-locked smartphones and contactless technology, is closer than we think, according to Paul Dennis from ITAB, a company that develops traditional and concept checkouts for retailers.

Mr Dennis told the Australian-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce in London on Wednesday that Minority Report is transitioning from science fiction to reality.

"That kind of technology isn't far away, facial recognition is already on iPhone, they could recognise you when you come in the store and say 'this is what you bought last time, do you want the same magazine? You're thinking of pasta, do you want some sauces?'

"This kind of technology is there, it's just a lot of investment from retailers at the moment," he said.

He said the industry was working toward "frictionless" transactions where a customer's body or smartphone would act as a portal that transmits the necessary identification and payment data, rendering physical payments redundant.

"The utopia transaction for us would be: you walk into the store, you pick something up and you leave," Mr Dennis said.

He said countries like China were likely to progress faster than others, because of their already authoritarian approach to personal data.

"That actually gives China a platform to be a lot more advanced than the rest of the world will be, certainly for a short time," he said, adding that Chinese online retailer Ali Baba is experimenting with automated stores.

Last month, Amazon launched its first checkout-free store in Seattle, in the US, after more than a year of trials. Amazon Go relies on cameras and sensors to detect what items a customer picks up and then processes payment through its app.

'Smart billboards'

Paul Lee, head of Deloitte's global research into technology and communications, said that it would not be long before a person could buy products advertised through artificial intelligence installed in their homes, cars and phones.

He cited Google's "Lens" technology unveiled last year in its second-generation Pixel phone which scans landmarks and converts it into a link detailing what a person is seeing. He said the same technology is set to be rolled out on the iPhone.

London's recently revamped iconic billboards in Picadilly Circus are equipped with technology capable of detecting within one second a person's gender, age and mood but not their identity. Ocean Outdoor, which installed the screen, told Fairfax Media ads are triggered based on the majority demographic in the vicinity at the time, much to the dismay of privacy campaigners.

Site owner Land Securities said "the technology does not collect or store any personal data and is unable to record images or audio".

Cashless within three generations

Nick Dryden, chief executive of Sthaler, a company that provides biometrics services, predicted the economy would be cashless but in the long-term.

"Cash is going to be around for a while but I do think demographically you're going to see a big change... cashless is going to be in two-to-three generations I'd say," he said.

This week, Australian banks launched a new payments system enabling customers to send money to others using a person's phone number or email in real-time instead of the traditional three-days.

"When fully up and running this brand new, cutting-edge system will mean that Australians who want to pay a tradesperson, split a bill at a restaurant or sell a piece of furniture online can make and receive payments instantly," said Anna Bligh from the Australian Bankers' Association.

In 2017, cards overtook cash as the most popular form of payment for Australians, with cards used for 52 per cent of payments, up from 43 per cent in 2013, according to the Australian payments network report.

Mr Dennis said with social media giant Facebook moving into e-money, the traditional banking sector could be superseded.