Moscow says it is first to launch large-scale metro facial ID payment system

FILE PHOTO: Passengers are seen at a metro station on the first day after a lockdown designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was lifted in Moscow, Russia June 9, 2020. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow's sprawling metro network on Friday launched a fare payment system using facial recognition technology at its more than 240 stations, an initiative the authorities said was the first of its kind in the world.

Moscow, a city of 12.7 million, has one of the world's largest video-surveillance systems. It has used facial recognition technology to enforce COVID-19 quarantines, and protesters attending political rallies have also said police have used it to make preventive arrests and detentions.