Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development intends to have every business in the country connected to the Unified Biometric System (UBS) eventually, Minister Maksut Shadayev said at a consensus conference with Russian companies in mid-February.
“Get ready to have UBS integrated into every business in a couple of years,” was Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev’s response to representatives of companies attending a recent consensus meeting called to discuss a package of anti-fraud amendments shortly before it was submitted to the State Duma.
Shadayev met with representatives of e-commerce — online marketplaces and classified advertising platforms — to explain how the new legislation will work. He mentioned widespread UBS integration in response to some of the participants’ concerns about the introduction of biometrics. At the same time, he promised to reduce the UBS fees to an “acceptable level.”
However, business representatives believe that this initiative will entail unjustified costs even despite the promised reduction in the UBS services price. Entrepreneurs also have doubts about the expedience of using biometrics.
“Biometrics are highly convenient for the purposes of accounting, supervision and oversight. However, it will mean higher costs for business, and inconvenience for customers,” economist Sergei Khestanov, Associate Professor at RANEPA, said. “With time, it becomes clearer that Russia is drifting towards a Chinese-style supervision and social credit model.”