VTB and Moscow metro test ride payments using Face Pay

VTB and the Moscow Metro plan to launch a joint project to pay for metro rides using biometric data at all metro stations in October 2021.

The project uses the Face Pay system, which allows customers to travel using facial recognition technology. The system also supports high processing volumes.

Using biometrics to pay for fares is easy. To do this, all customers have to do is submit their biometric data and link a bank card, from which the fare will be debited. Funds will be debited automatically upon passing through the turnstile

“Currently more than 15 000 passengers travel on four metro lines using Face Pay. It sounds fantastical, but about 6 years ago it was only possible to pay for travel with a bank card at one turnstile in the entire metro. Facial recognition testing for fare payment is in full swing. I have also registered myself, uploaded a photo through the application and as a test went through Face Pay several dozen times – there was not a single error. The cameras work and the recognition technology itself is reliable. Soon we will connect all the remaining lines, and, as the Moscow Mayor said, in October we will make it available on the entire metro,” said Maxim Liksutov, head of the Moscow Department of Transport.

“VTB is actively involved in the dynamic development of Moscow public transport technologies. We have previously provided the technical possibility of seamless transfers from one mode of transport to another, implemented payment for travel using bank cards and payment services Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Mir Pay and Apple Pay. Today we are able to go further, by offering passengers the use of technology of the future for travel – face biometrics. The new service will make travel safer and more convenient,” commented Vadim Izotov, Head of the Department for Development and Maintenance of Special Electronic Products, Senior Vice President of VTB Bank.

VTB Bank provides settlements for bank cards linked to biometrics, including an analysis of daily trips to determine the cost of a passenger’s travel, taking into account the organization of transfers between different types of transport.

The bank’s decision to use biometrics to pay for fares was chosen to be deployed at all stations of the Moscow metro in 2021, since VTB is an acquirer for contactless payment of fares in the Moscow metro at turnstiles.