Moscow's metro passengers can now pay hands-free thanks to new cameras that link their faces to their credit card data. The government is proud of the technological feat, but privacy activists say it's nothing to celebrate. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced that the Face Pay system will soon be available at all subway stations (about 300). To be able to use it, commuters register in the Moscow subway app, upload a photo of their face, and attach their bank card. Once the user approaches turnstiles, the camera recognizes the face (even if the person is wearing a mask), the fare is debited from their account, and the pay gate opens. The whole process takes two or three seconds. But customers can still pay the old-fashioned way, too.
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