Russia’s biometric payment system UBS to reach official operation by end of the year
The Unified Biometrics System (UBS) in Russia will be ready to be adopted by shops and restaurants by the end of 2020, Izvestia reports.
The news was announced by Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, according to a Google translation of the report.
UBS technology is managed by Rostelecom, the largest digital services provider in Russia, and has already been trialed in Lenta hypermarkets, and is planned for a chain of coffee shops.
Wider deployment, however, would be subject to law amendments. Currently, face and voice recognition systems can only be used for remote opening of storage places.
The new amendments, which according to Aksakov should pass in the next couple of months, will allow for an increase in the number of uses for biometrics and clarify requirements for data security in other fields.
UBS allows for payments using face and voice verification, and once operative, it will be compatible with a number of different Russian banks, including Rosselkhozbank and Dom.RF
In order to be able to use the systems, users will have to submit their biometric data via the Unified Biometrics System platform.
China’s digital currency used for pilot transactions
Meanwhile, in China, the People’s Bank’s biometrics-backed digital currency has been used for pilot transactions worth 1.1 billion yuan, according to the South China Morning Post.
The development of the e-yuan comes amidst a digitalization strategy aimed at transforming the Chinese economy, said Fan Yifei at the Sibos banking and financial conference on Monday.
The new Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DC/EP) has been used for transactions in a variety of scenarios, from bill payments to government services.
A total of 3.13 million transactions were processed using DC/EP, particularly in cities like Shenzhen and Xiongan.
Identify verification techniques to authorize payments include facial recognition, bar codes and two-factor authentication prompts.
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