TechFlow News, January 23 — According to Bitcoin.com, Russia's largest bank Sber and NSPK, the operator of the Mir payment system, will jointly launch a unified facial recognition payment network, scheduled to officially go live in the second half of 2025. Dmitry Malykh, Senior Vice President of Sber, revealed that the system will establish a national biometric standard, enabling cross-bank interoperability.
Sber plans to deploy the technology on 2 million terminals, covering 50% of banking terminals across Russia. Users will be able to register their biometric data via any participating bank’s app and make payments or transfers at all supported terminals. The system will also support new use cases such as age-verified purchases and automatic hotel check-ins.
Previously, Sber and NSPK operated separate facial recognition payment systems, which suffered from cumbersome user registration processes and non-interoperable networks. The new system will achieve full integration. The Central Bank of Russia has expressed support, stating that biometric payments are set to become the future trend.
