They launch the controversial facial recognition system …

Russia’s X5 supermarket group of companies, the country’s largest chain, X5, on Wednesday announced the launch of payment for facial recognition, a controversial technology that continues to grow in the country.

The X5 Group said it has partnered with the Visa payments system, as well as Sberbank, the leading Russian state and banking institution currently undergoing transformation as a digital giant.

X5 innovation director Ivan Melnik stressed that the number of supermarkets connected to the system is expected to increase from 52 this week to 150 by the end of March and that by the end of 2021 “the service will be available in 12,000 to 14,000 devices in 3,000 stores. all over Russia ”.