Biometric payments are rapidly gaining popularity in Russia. The "Pay with a Smile" service processed transactions worth 116 billion rubles in January-September 2025, which is 5.5 times more than for the entire 2024 (21 billion rubles), Sberbank reported.
The number of transactions exceeded 130 million, which is four times more than last year's figures. Since mid-2023, 4.4 million unique users have used the service, and the growth in the number of customers in 2025 amounted to 169%.
The average age of users of the new technology is 43 years.
Currently, "Pay with a Smile" is available on 1.4 million terminals throughout the country, and it is expected that there will be 2 million by 2026. The greatest activity was recorded in Moscow (7.7%) and St. Petersburg (3.8%), while the remaining regions account for 88.6% of transactions. The peak of payments occurs during the daytime hours from 12:00 to 18:00 - it is at this time that almost half of all transactions take place (47%).