Russia's X5 Retail Group has rolled out a new technology to a number of its Perekrestok supermarkets that enables customers to pay for their groceries via facial recognition.
The 'pay with a glance' technology, which was developed alongside Sber and Visa, uses biometric identification, and has been installed at self-service terminals at 52 Perekrestok supermarkets.
By the end of the month, the technology will be available at 150 Perekrestok stores, while a number of Pyaterochka outlets are set to follow in April. A further rollout will depend on the results of the first phase of the project, X5 said.
Payment Methods
"In 2020, the first place where we launched this technology commercially was a Moscow coffee shop chain," commented Igor Shekhterman, CEO of X5 Retail Group. "Today’s 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."
Payment using the technology takes just a few seconds, as shoppers do not need to use their bank card or smartphone, however face masks do need to be removed in order to process the payment.
The ‘pay with a glance’ option is currently only available to shoppers who are Sber’s banking clients. The biometric data is stored at Sber and transmitted via highly secure channels in an encrypted form.
"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," said Shekhterman. "I’m convinced that contactless biometric payment solutions will very soon be used universally, and this payment method will become as customary as paying with a bank card or a smartphone."
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
