(MONEY Magazine) – If there's anything the modern American has enough of, it's passwords and PINs. A San Francisco company called InnoVentry is rolling out check-cashing kiosks that do away with both. How do you access your cash? A machine scans your face.

InnoVentry (which is 40% owned by Wells Fargo) chose facial scans, according to CEO Frank Petro, after discovering that retinal scans--used to great effect in science fiction--"make you feel like you're going to go blind." Fingerprinting was worse, making users think of going to prison.

How do you use this futuristic ID? The machine takes your picture during your first visit; each time you return, your image is compared with the digital photo on file. All you need is your Social Security number.

But what if you gain weight, go bald, grow a beard? Will the machine still recognize you? Yes, says Petro. But he won't promise protection from an evil twin.

InnoVentry's machines, now being tested in a few Southwest cities, are targeted at the 37 million Americans without bank accounts. Soon consumers will be able to use ATM cards, get cash advances on credit cards and request small instant loans. One key audience: gamblers in Las Vegas. Casino kiosks will not offer instant loans, though, says Petro, "for obvious reasons."

--ROB TURNER