Passengers take a train of the Line 1 of Chengdu Metro in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Oct. 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

Passengers in Chengdu, capital city of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, can pay by scanning their faces at the turnstile at subway stations from September 1, according to the application released by Chengdu Metro Operation.

In addition, the new technology allows passengers to use facial recognition devices while wearing masks in accordance with pandemic related health rules.

Passengers need to apply for real-name registration on the application when opening scanning service, in order to protect the security of their financial accounts. Once verified, they can pay by scanning faces at subway turnstiles in Chengdu.

Chengdu subway is not the first to make use of the face-scanners. From 2017, train stations in major Chinese cities like Beijing, Guangzhou and Wuhan, have rolled out ticketing systems which leverage facial recognition technology.  

In response to users' doubt on the privacy security, Chengdu Metro said that the application will not store and collect personal information of passengers, in strict abidance with national laws and data privacy standards.  

In order to guarantee the security of private data, China has passed its Personal Information Protection Law on August 20, which is set to be implemented on November 1, requiring suspension or termination of services for apps that illegally process personal data.

Global Times