Moscow Metro introduces face recognition payment system
The Tube has Oyster cards and the New York subway its Metrocards, but Moscow’s Metro is going one better – rolling out ticketing based on facial recognition technology.
The Face Pay technology use biometric data and bank card details to recognise, and charge, travellers on the Metro.
The tech is currently being trialled on the Filevskaya line with plans to roll out the ticketing system across the rest of the system by the end of this year.Moscow’s Department of Transport said the facial recognition software would add a “convenient”.
It will become an additional and “convenient” but optional payment method when entering the metro network in the city. It is said to recognise faces even when passengers are wearing masks.
The trial involves a focus group of a thousand passengers. People interested are able to fill in a form to take part and are able to withdraw at any time.
“We are certain that tens of thousands of Moscow residents, who follow trends and love modern technologies, will choose this new service,” said the department’s press service.
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Metro employees are already using this service and more than a million successful passes have been made, according to Maxim Liksutov from the department of transport.
Liksutov told Bloomberg that the system only receives an electronic code, as all the personal data would be securely stored by the banks.
The technology will also improve the assessment of crowdedness in trains and already contributes to finding lost persons and wanted criminals, according to transport authorities. Three Russian-made algorithms are currently being used for biometric identification.
The pay-at-a-glance service is already used at self-service checkouts in supermarkets in Moscow. Californian tech start-up PopID has rolled out facial recognition payments in restaurants since last year. Biometric recognition is already widely used in China in public transport and at convenience stores such as Seven-Eleven.