Facial Recognition Payment to Be Tested in Moscow Metro

The head of Moscow’s Department of Transport and Road Infrastructure Development, Maksim Liksutov, announced that by the end of the year, an experiment will begin allowing passengers to pay for rides in the Moscow Metro using facial recognition technology.

This payment option will only be available to passengers who have previously provided their biometric data and given their bank consent to process it. In addition to passing through the turnstile, passengers will also be able to use facial recognition to top up their “Troika” transit cards.

All companies participating in the project are providing the equipment for the pilot launch at their own expense. The specific stations involved in the experiment have not been named, but social media users have previously spotted the systems at the “Oktyabrskoye Pole” and “Botanichesky Sad” stations.

Key Focus: Speed of Identification

One of the most important factors for Moscow authorities is the speed of identification. According to Liksutov, this remains a challenge even in relatively well-lit areas:

“We’re talking about a maximum of one second. If facial recognition, bank communication, and opening the turnstile gates take longer, it could lead to passenger congestion during rush hour. That’s why ticket validation time is one of the key requirements we set for potential participants in the project.”

The project participants include the Moscow Department of Information Technology, Sberbank, VTB, and Rostec. If the experiment is successful, the metro may eventually replace turnstiles with video-based facial recognition of passengers in crowds.