Biometrics Rules: 18+ items can be paid by person as early as October.
The service for confirming the age of a person when purchasing goods 18+ will start working at self-service cash desks this fall, the office of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko told Izvestia. It will be launched in vending machines in the coming weeks — by the end of October, the Center for Biometric Technologies clarified. The innovation will make the service in stores even faster and more convenient for customers. To pay in this way, you will need to submit your biometrics to the EBS. Currently, you can confirm your age without documents only by using a QR code using the MAX messenger.
How to buy an 18+ product using biometrics
The launch of the biometrics age confirmation service at self-service cash desks will take place before the end of November, the office of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko told Izvestia. At first, it will operate in a pilot version, only in one store chain. However, the expansion of the service to others is being discussed, an industry source told Izvestia.
The same service will work in vending machines, the press service of the Center for Biometric Technologies (CBT) clarified. The project is planned to be launched in the coming weeks until the end of October. At the first stage, it will operate in a number of fitness clubs in Moscow. In vending machines, the service will be used for the sale of tonic drinks — from March 1, their sale to minors is prohibited.
"Biometrics should also become a reliable tool that will eliminate the possibility of selling energy products to children and adolescents," noted the office of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko.
When purchasing an 18+ product, the EBS will receive a request for the number of full years of the buyer, the CBT clarified. If a signal arrives that the buyer is over 18 years old, the operation will be approved, if not, it will be rejected.
To enable payment using biometrics for such products, you need to register biometrics: through the application "Gosuslugi Biometria" or in a bank with a passport and SNILS. Then you need to connect the "Migom" service from Gosuslug. For this, you will need to log in through the portal once and consent to data processing. Then you can buy goods at points with this logo, confirming the age according to the instructions on the screen.
The Central Bank and Dmitry Grigorenko's office reminded that the transfer of data to the EBS is voluntary and biometric services are used only as an alternative method of payment or identity verification.
Why use biometrics at self-service cash desks
The use of biometrics at self-service checkout counters is designed to improve the customer experience and increase store efficiency, industry representatives say.
"This technology makes it possible to simplify and speed up purchases of 18+ products, as well as free up the time of store staff for customer service and solving more important tasks," the press service of the Magnit retail chain told Izvestia.
Investments in innovation will pay off not by reducing staff, but by increasing staff efficiency — people's work will become more productive, said Oleg Abelev, head of the analytical department at the Rikom-Trust investment company. For example, one person will now be able to serve twice as many self-service cash desks, because they will not have to constantly approach them to confirm the age of customers.
Nevertheless, the system will really save on staff. Installing a single CSR costs a retailer an average of 40-50 thousand rubles, which is even less than the average salary of a seller or cashier in a retail chain, and equipping an already installed terminal with additional functions will probably cost even less, said Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global.
Some CSR systems in large retail chains have long been equipped with devices for reading biometrics, so retailers will not spend much on implementing the service — retail will implement this service without problems, the expert noted.
It will significantly improve the customer experience by providing fast and convenient purchase of age-restricted goods without unnecessary interaction with staff, Oleg Abelev noted. Modern shoppers value speed and minimal waiting — the ability to instantly pay for a purchase increases loyalty to the network, stimulates repeat visits and increases the average receipt.
In addition, the service reduces regulatory risks for retail, the expert added. The human factor — employee fatigue, inattention, or the discovery of forged documents — can lead to the sale of alcohol or tobacco to minors, which entails not only heavy fines, but also reputational costs for the network. The biometric system provides more objective and reliable age verification, minimizing these risks.
At the same time, retail chains are already implementing solutions to simplify age verification at the checkout. We are talking about CSR technology using the MAX messenger — using a digital ID with access by QR code.
The QR code-based system (as with MAX) is generally quite secure, but in any case it does not provide as many guarantees as biometrics, said Alexey Postrigailo, senior partner at Ensain IT integrator. A scenario in which a teenager can buy an 18+ product with a phone or a screenshot of an adult's QR code becomes simply impossible in the case of the CBT service. Nevertheless, a digital ID-based system may be a cheaper basic level of contactless identification of a customer's age, the expert concluded.
Why are people afraid to take face casts?
— Ideally, the service should become the standard for all points of sale of age-restricted goods in the future. From innovative technologies, this will become mandatory," says Oleg Abelev from Rikom-Trust.
According to forecasts, by 2028, at least 10% of all payments in Russia will be made using biometrics, and more than 70% of purchases in retail chains will be made through CSR by the same time, said Natalia Milchakova from Freedom Finance Global. This means that biometric payments at such cash desks can become completely routine over time.
Nevertheless, not all buyers will decide to use such a service, Oleg Abelev noted.
— One of the brakes on the development of biometric services now is that many Russians are afraid to hand over such data. The reason is that the face and voice can allegedly be used without a person's consent," explained Alexander Bleznekov, head of information security at Telecom Exchange.
Russians fear that biometrics may fall into the hands of fraudsters, the expert added. However, the EBS is protected by the highest standards (the FSB and other services), and the data is stored there in encrypted form separately from personal data. It was to ensure the security of such information that in the summer of 2023, commercial companies were banned from storing biometrics, they transferred everything to the state system.
— During the entire period of operation of the EBS, there has not been a single leak of biometric data of customers, — said the press service of the CBT.
At the same time, the police and special services do not use data from the EBS — it can only be used to provide government and civil services, Alexander Bleznekov emphasized. The system is not connected to video surveillance cameras and is not used for surveillance, it is a separate technology used by law enforcement officers, it is not related to CBT.
People will be afraid to submit biometrics until they are sure that their data will not turn against them, Natalia Milchakova concluded. It was similar in the 1990s, when many, especially the elderly, were afraid of the Internet and mobile phones. But over time, new technologies become part of everyday life and mass fear of them disappears.
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