Russian bank Tinkoff to collect biometric data from customers, send to state system

From the end of September, Tinkoff Bank began asking customers for consent to convert their photos into biometric data, which the bank is then required by law to transfer to the Unified Biometric System (UBS), Kommersant reports.

Tinkoff notified customers using the Stories feature at the top of its mobile app. According to Kommersant, the bank said biometric data was needed to “ensure the security” of transactions and authentications, and informed customers the data would then be sent to the UBS.

Thousands of people commented on Tinkoff’s story, asking, among other things, how to refuse consent, since there was only an “allow” button in the bank’s mobile application. Kommersant discovered that it is only possible to withdraw consent by sending a request via traditional post or by contacting the bank in person.

The UBS was launched in July 2018. In December 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law forcing all organizations collecting biometric data to transfer that data to the state system.