News – Russian Government

The Nizhny Novgorod region is joining the federal pilot project to provide services to citizens at the MFC without presenting a passport on the basis of the state Unified Biometric System. This decision was made by Deputy Prime Minister – Chief of the Government Staff Dmitry Grigorenko during a working trip to the region.

The Nizhny Novgorod region will be among the first to join the pilot project. Earlier, on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister, a similar service was launched in the Chelyabinsk, Leningrad and Lipetsk regions.

Using biometrics in the MFC, citizens can receive more than 100 services. For example, opening a business, applying for various benefits, including for large families, obtaining or replacing a driver’s license.

To receive service without a passport, a visitor to the MFC who has registered biometrics in advance just needs to look into the camera installed at the employee’s automated workstation. After confirming your identity, the MFC operator will generate a pre-filled application for the provision of services. This will increase the speed of service by 25–30%.

“Today, MFCs are maximally focused on the speed and convenience of providing services to citizens and businesses. Biometrics is another way to increase the level of service. We launched a service for servicing MFCs without a passport in three pilot regions, but we intend to scale the project throughout the country. The Nizhny Novgorod region will be the first to join it,” said Dmitry Grigorenko.

The new service is offered to citizens in addition to existing service methods. Everyone can choose how it is more convenient for them to receive services – using a passport or using biometric technologies.

During the working trip, Dmitry Grigorenko also inspected the implementation of the metro fare payment service using biometrics. In December, terminals for contactless payments were installed and put into operation at all 15 metro stations.

“Since December 2024, we have introduced biometrics in the metro – this method of paying for travel has become available to Nizhny Novgorod residents at all stations at once. Since the launch of the system, about 8 thousand passengers have used this technology. Biometrics are most actively used at the busiest stations – “Gorkovskaya”, “Park Kultury”, “Moskovskaya”. We are discussing the possibility of using biometrics in the future on other types of transport,” said Gleb Nikitin, Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

The Nizhny Novgorod metro became the third in the country to introduce a payment service based on the Unified Biometric System. In 2025, the ability to pay for travel using biometrics will appear in St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk. Thus, it will be available in 100% of operating Russian subways.

The Unified Biometric System is a digital platform on the basis of which various government and commercial services are provided. These include contactless payment for purchases, travel on public transport, remote opening of a business, service at the MFC, issuing an electronic signature, obtaining an electronic SIM card and a number of others.

Each user of the system can freely manage their data. On the government services portal, you can check the validity period of biometrics or revoke consent to its processing.

Biometric samples (photo images, voice recordings) are stored in encrypted form separately from other personal data and never leave the system perimeter.