MOSCOW: From cameras criss-crossing the city to payment systems popping up at metro gates and supermarket checkouts, facial recognition is rapidly taking root in Moscow.

The initiative has gained ground since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with authorities using it as a tool to enforce lockdown measures while Russians increasingly turn to contactless payments.

But as the network grows with plans to expand across Russia, the technology is celebrated by some while alarming rights activists who warn about creeping state surveillance.

The latest development came Wednesday, as the country’s leading food retailer X5 group announced the rollout of a facial recognition payment system at dozens of its Moscow supermarkets. It said some 3,000 stores across the country will feature the technology by the end of the year.

“This is convenient for customers since they don’t have to carry a wallet or take their phone out of their pocket,” X5’s innovation director Ivan Melnik told AFP.