“We love you, we recognize you.” Sobyanin announced the introduction of the FacePay payment system at all Moscow metro stations

The metro fare payment system using facial recognition technology will be launched at all stations in Moscow on October 15. This was announced by the mayor of the city Sergei Sobyanin during the “New Knowledge” marathon, transfers TASS.

He added that the face payment system is currently operating in test mode at three metro stations.

“We thought that no one would sign up, who would like to be photographed, enter their data into some system, and also a bank account. <...> 15 thousand [человек] signed up in a few weeks. From September 15, we will double the number of stations, and from October 15, we will do it at all metro stations in Moscow, so take pictures, come through, we love you, we will recognize you, ”Sobyanin said.

In March, Andrei Kichigin, the deputy head of the metro, said that the metro fare payment system using facial recognition technology will work at all stations by the end of 2021.

Sobyanin told how the FacePay system works.

“You find a special application on your phone, take a picture of yourself and send [в систему]… Your faces will be registered in the information transport system, and when you pass in the subway, a video camera records you and says “Okay, this is Vanya Ivanov, come in”, and you are written off [средства] from an account, a bank card or an electronic Troika card, as you wish, ”the mayor explained.

The installation of CCTV cameras with new functionality in the Moscow Metro began in the spring of 2019. The head of the Moscow Department of Transport Maxim Liksutov spoke about the principles of the FacePay system in an interview with Bloomberg.

“The basic configuration is such that all personal data is stored on the side of banks, we only receive an electronic code, like from a credit card. We do not store personal data on our side. We are focused on the development of biometrics bank payments. The ability to pay in the metro will encourage people to leave their biometric data. You can link your biometric passport to your card in your office at the bank, ”he explained.

April 10 BBC released a lot of material that the Moscow authorities began to monitor the residents of the city even before the introduction of mandatory self-isolation. The large-scale Smart City system has been under construction in the capital for about ten years.

The mayor’s office purchases geo-analytical data from cellular operators, which allow finding out the location of a person, place of residence and routes along which he travels.

The authorities also collect data using taxi and car sharing services, Troika cards, GLONASS sensors, surveillance cameras and a face recognition system connected to them.