Bioacquiring

Acquiring (processing)

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2024-2025: The volume of the Russian acquiring market with payment for biometrics for the year reached ₽21 billion

The turnover of biometric acquiring in Russia in 2024 reached 21 billion rubles. This is evidenced by the data of Sberbank, published in October 2025. We are talking about the entire market, and not just about the performance of the Sberbank service.

In the first nine months of 2025, the market volume amounted to ₽116 billion, which is already 5.5 times more than in the entire 2024. The number of transactions exceeded 130 million operations (an increase of 4 times). The largest increase in users is in 2025. The service was used by 3.36 million new users, which is 169% higher than a year ago.

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Фото: Sberbank

As noted in Sberbank, the base of customers using bioequiring is constantly expanding due to the convenience of the technology. Biometric payment does not require a card or smartphone to make a payment, the bank's press service emphasized.

The largest number of users of payment with a smile was recorded in Moscow. The share of the capital is 7.7% of the total number of users in the country. St. Petersburg ranks second with 3.8% of users. The remaining regions make up 88.6% of the service's customer base. The wide geography of use testifies to the massive adoption of the technology. The regional distribution shows the reach beyond the largest cities. Small towns and rural areas also access biometric payments.

The average age of customers who pay with biometrics in 2025 is 43. The indicator indicates the massive adoption of technology by different generations. Young users are quickly mastering new payment methods. Middle-aged people appreciate the convenience and speed of calculations. The older generation is gradually switching to biometric payments. The absence of age barriers is important for the mass adoption of innovation.^[1]

2023

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation has developed a payment system for biometrics using the EBS

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Payment Card System (NSPK) and the Center for Biometric Technologies (CBT) have developed a bioequiring technology using the Unified Biometric System (EBS). The first pilot pilot operations have already been successfully carried out, the regulator said in October 2023.

The project participants plan to make payments through the fast payment system and the SBPei application. Experts interviewed by Kommersant noted that technological problems are not expected in the process of introducing bioequiring, but citizens of the country are still very distrustful of biometrics and do not want to hand it over and transfer it to the EBS.

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation has developed a payment system for biometrics using the EBS

When paying offline, the option of scanning the face with a camera is considered, which will be installed on the cash desks of stores and integrated into the interface of the cash center. To be able to pay for biometrics, the user needs to connect this function in his personal account on "Public services." For online payment, it is also planned to use the SBPei application, in which the buyer's face will be scanned by the camera of his smartphone. In this case, banks will not have to change anything, all modernization for the buyer will be carried out by NSPK, automatically updating the application with users. The main problem in the second case remains the security of the transaction: since the payment takes place with one-factor authentication, without additional confirmation of the payment.

To reduce the risk of fraud, it is planned to introduce a limit on payment by bioequiring, following the example of payments by card without introduction: PIN code up to a certain amount, payment will go in person, and in excess of it - like a regular payment to the SBP, by To the QR code or contactless using SBPei. In the case of a face scan using a smartphone, the SBPei application itself is the second factor, authentications since to enter it, you need to enter a password or log in by face or fingerprint.^[2]

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation has already chosen cities to conduct a bioequiring pilot

At the end of June 2023, the Bank of Russia announced the choice of the first cities for an experiment on the so-called bioequiring. We are talking about the possibility of paying for purchases using a face image.

According to Interfax, Olga Skorobogatova, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, spoke about the project. According to her, the ability to pay for goods and services literally by person is a promising direction for the development of the payment market. A pilot project to introduce bioequiring will be launched in 2023. At first, the system will allow transactions for small amounts, which is dictated by security considerations.

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation has already chosen cities to conduct a bioequiring pilot - first deputy chairman

This year we also want to make a bioequiring pilot. This means that when you enter a sales and service point, you can pay up to a certain amount in person. Several cities have been chosen for this pilot, - said Skorobogatova.

In which Russian cities a new payment method will become available, it is not specified. At the same time, Skorobogatova stressed that, in addition to the bioequaring experiment, in 2023 the Bank of Russia plans to conduct the first real operations with digital rubles - subject to the adoption of the legal framework necessary for this. The regulator is expected to test payment for goods and services in digital rubles using a QR code. 13 banks and trade and service enterprises from 11 cities will take part in this project. It is expected that the digital ruble will become another means for payments and transfers and will allow businesses to reduce costs: the commission for outlets for accepting payment in this way will not exceed 0.3% per operation.

13 banks together with us determine in which cities trade and service enterprises will accept the digital ruble. I said that now this list has been identified as 11 cities, it will certainly expand in the course of the pilot, "Skorobogatova emphasized.[3]

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