OREANDA-NEWS. The Russian authorities plan to make a decision to replace paper passports with smart cards by the end of 2021. This was stated by the head of the Ministry of Finance Maksut Shadayev.

"From the point of view of replacing a paper passport, it is clear that there is a need to change it to a more modern format, it is such a smart card. I think that we will take such a decision by the end of this year," he said in an interview with the Russia 24 TV channel.

The minister added that the department sets the task of organizing for Russians the opportunity to have another copy of a digital passport, which can be shown in the form of a QR code on the phone.

As previously reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in Moscow, a new document will be issued from December 2021, in the regions - as soon as the technical readiness determined by the government, but no later than July 2023.

The agency told RIA Novosti that electronic passports will contain fingerprints of two hands, as well as, at the request of the owner, an electronic signature.

By 2024, they plan to issue all certificates in digital format. According to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, about 200 government services will be transferred online.