In Sevastopol, they prepare to launch the function of paying for the fare with a “smile”

Payment with a “smile” in Sevastopol will be available only when traveling on sea passenger transport — boats and ferries. The city will be the first city in the south of the country where such a function will be available on public transport. This will be possible thanks to Sber’s cooperation with the Convenient Route and EGKS companies.

It will be possible to pay for travel with a “smile” from October 25. First, bioterminals will be installed on the turnstiles where passengers board boats at the Grafskaya pier. Then the entrance lobbies in Artbukhta and Zakharov Square will be equipped with bioterminals. The terminals will be integrated into the existing system, which will speed up the fare payment process.

The developers note that this technology has a high degree of security — biometric data cannot be lost or transferred, and the system recognizes fraud attempts, eliminating the possibility of payment using photographs or videos.

For now, the function of paying for travel with biometric data will only be available on maritime passenger transport. The test period will last until the end of 2025, after which the possibility of introducing the system to other types of public transport will be considered.

Preferential categories of citizens who have a Sber social card will for now be able to pass through the turnstiles only by attaching the card. But the work is already underway and soon the beneficiary will be able to board the boat simply by “smiling.”

Statistics: in just 9 months, 3,670,716 people were transported by sea transport in Sevastopol. Of these, 2,025,542 by bank cards, 324,280 by transport cards, 1,076,602 by benefit cards, 163,566 by monthly travel tickets and 80,726 by cash.

For reference: “Payment with a Smile” is a Sberbank service that allows its clients to pay for purchases at checkouts in stores using biometrics. To pay, you need to look into the camera, which recognizes the face image and matches it with a unique number linked to biometric data. This number is also linked to the card account. If the data matches, the payment goes through.

source: press service of the Government of Sevastopol