It became known that Sberbank, Visa payment system and X5 Retail Group have launched face payments in 50 Perekrestok stores. By the end of the month, the number of Perekrestok stores that offer face-to-face payment will be expanded to 150. RBC writes about this with reference to company representatives, noting that next month a similar function will appear in some Pyaterochka stores located on the territory Moscow.

It is known that the identification system was created based on the developments of the X5 Innovation Laboratory and the VisionLabs technology. It is used only at self-checkouts of our own design X5. The Visa payment system acts as a strategic partner, while Sberbank is the acquiring bank of the network. Sberbank cardholders can use payment by face. It is reported that in the future, the entire network of the company can be connected to the new service, i.e. over 5 thousand devices in several regions of Russia. The decision on a wider distribution of the new service will be made after the completion of the test stage and receiving feedback from buyers.

Sberbank’s plans to introduce payment by face became known back in mid-2019. At the moment, a biometric cast of a face can be submitted at bank branches, in the Sberbank Online application and at ATMs. The first launch of the face-to-face payment service took place in 2020 at the PRIME chain of Moscow coffee houses. After submitting the biometrics, to use face-to-face payment, you need to go to the Sberbank Online application, select the “Pay at a glance” item and indicate the appropriate card for debiting funds. In the process of paying at the self-service checkout, after scanning the goods, it is required to activate the “Pay at a glance” mode, after which it is necessary to look into the camera, having lingered in this position for a few seconds.

Biometric payments are expected to be ubiquitous in the future. According to Visa, up to 70% of Russians plan to use face-to-face payments in the future. A Visa representative noted the continuously growing popularity of contactless payment methods among Russians, including using biometrics.