X5 is rolling out facial recognition payment system at 52 Perekrestok supermarkets. Credit: X5 Retail Group / Flickr.

Russia-based food retailer X5 Retail Group has introduced a facial recognition payment system at self-service checkout terminals in some of its stores.

The retailer has partnered with Visa and state-owned banking company Sber to introduce ‘pay with a glance’ biometrics.

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Customers using the Sberbank Online mobile app can select the Pay with a Glance option in the Cards or Profile sections of the app and specify the card to be used for payment.

After scanning their goods at a compatible checkout, they can select the option to Pay with a Glance, take off their mask and look into the camera.

The payment technology is currently available on 350 devices and has the technical capacity to be scaled up across more than 6,000 devices across the X5 Retail Group network.

X5 Retail Group plans to introduce the technology at Pyaterochka stores in April, with the aim of installing it at around 3,000 stores in Russia by the end of the year.

The retailer will decide whether or not to roll out the service based on results of the first pilot phase and customer feedback.

X5 Retail Group CEO Igor Shekhterman said: “The launch of the project in one of Russia’s largest retail chains demonstrates that our ambition to develop innovative payment methods is shared by our partners, who are as eager to introduce them as we are.

“You don’t need cash, bank cards or smartphones to use the service – all you need to do is show your face and the payment will be posted. This is a fast, convenient and secure technology of the future, and we are among the first to be introducing it in Russia and worldwide.

“I’m convinced that contactless biometric payment solutions will be used universally very soon, and this payment method will become as customary as paying with a bank card or smartphone.”