Moscow Subway Riders Can Soon Use Their Face to Pay, RIA Says

(Bloomberg) -- The Moscow metro system, which carries more riders than the New York subway, is about to roll out a facial recognition system that will let people pay with a glance, RIA Novosti reported Wednesday, citing the mayor of the Russian capital. 

More than 15,000 people have signed up for the FacePay program in a matter of weeks and, given its popularity, the metro will allow contact-free payment at all of its stations starting Oct. 15, the state news service reported Mayor Sergei Sobyanin as saying at a conference. 

The program, which requires people to provide a photograph and personal information linked to a bank account, was rolled out earlier this year at several stations in a test mode. 

Moscow operates one of the biggest facial-recognition camera networks outside of China, and police have used the system to identify and detain people who attended anti-Kremlin protests in support of opposition leader Alexey Navalny earlier this year. 

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