Moscow Metro Launches Biometric Face Pay

Moscow Metro has launched a whole new Face Pay service. This allows passengers to use fare biometrics to pay the fare at all metro stations.

To use the new payment technology, passengers have to connect a bank or transport card to the mobile application of the Moscow Metro and then upload their pictures. The payment procedure is the same as when passengers go into circulation using a bank card. Passengers approach the turn, the camera takes their view, checks it, and then the passenger can move in space.

According to the Moscow Metro, all info is fully encrypted. Live technology distinguishes the natural look from the photo, making it impossible for passengers to pay their bills using pictures of other people.

The system may run relatively slowly on some stations with less light, like a smartphone camera that takes more time to detect a person in the dark or a dimly lit area.

Moscow is the largest consumer of biometric payments worldwide. In the last ten years, due to the variety of payment methods, queues at the subway desks have decreased by 3.3 times, and with the launch of Face Pay, they are likely to fall even more.

According to the Moscow Department of Transport forecasts, 10-15% of passengers will use Face Pay regularly in the next 2-3 years. If demand for the new service is high, Moscow Metro will adjust the turnover for Face Pay. Currently, at least one turnover is installed at the entrance of each station; some stations have up to three.

Within a day of launching the program, approximately 25,000 people had registered with the Face Pay service.

Face recognition technology was installed at 240 stations. As it is known, the Moscow Information Technology Department claims that the photos collected through official channels will not be handed over to the police and will be securely encrypted in the GIS ETSHD system.

Some fear that this subway system could become a means of surveillance. Advocates of this mission have been committed to making the specific transcript of this announcement applicable online. Russian privacy advocates demand full transparency and an explanation of how this program will work in practice. The Moscow Metro is an authority bureau, and all dossiers can be found in the hands of security services.

We wonder if there will be additional comments from the Russian authorities about the service and whether the new technology will gain the population’s trust.