Financial services marketplace in Russia

2023: Financial marketplaces in Russia will be able to produce CFA and become a platform for their circulation

On June 13, 2023, the State Duma adopted a bill according to which financial marketplaces will be able to combine their work with the activities of a blockchain platform that produces or exchanges digital financial assets (CFA).

After the entry into force of the law, operators of the financial platform will be able not only to produce CFAs, but also to become a platform for their secondary circulation. To do this, platforms must be included in the registers of information system operators or operators of the Bank of Russia CFA.

Financial Marketplaces will be able to combine their work with the activities of the blockchain platform

Another innovation affects financial platforms and transactions with securities admitted to organized trading. At the moment, only consumers of financial services-individuals can acquire securities on financial platforms. In order to remove this barrier, the novel proposes to add bond issuers and persons who act on their behalf to the list of those who can purchase bonds through platforms.

As the general director of Atomaiz Ekaterina Frolovicheva told Kommersant, the changes were caused by the desire to attract additional liquidity to the CFA market, since it is necessary to organize "the appeal of CFAs issued on one platform for clients of another platform." The path proposed in the law will allow, according to her, exchange operators to appear, who will be able to organize trade between platforms. The Moscow Exchange believes that combining the activities of the marketplace and the CFA operator will create conditions for "simplifying the client path and optimizing the technologies for offering financial instruments."

According to the deputy head of the financial marketplace "Сравни.ру" Alexei Gribkov, the possibility of combining activities will be of interest primarily to groups that already have both a platform operator and an investment business. The CFA themselves "look like a promising mechanism" for the development of the platform market, investment products for it are a "logical continuation." However, not only the existing platforms will want to enter the CFA market: IP operators may also be interested in obtaining the status of a financial platform in order to become a universal marketplace, says Oleg Ushakov, founder of the legal bureau Sagrada Legal.^[1]

2021: Mishustin opened marketplaces access to the IT system of OSAGO

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, according to which operators of digital financial platforms (marketplaces) will have access to an automated information system for OSAGO. The press service of the Cabinet of Ministers announced this on January 22, 2021.

It is specified that such a decision will make it possible to include the execution of an auto insurance contract in the list of services provided by marketplaces. At the same time, the cost of the OSAGO policy will be similar to the one according to which the policy can be purchased on the official websites of insurance companies.

Mikhail Mishustin opened marketplaces access to the IT system of OSAGO

The Government of the Russian Federation noted that by January 22, 2021, three operators of financial platforms (VTB Registrar, Moscow Exchange and the specialized depository Infinitum) were included in the register of the Bank of Russia. It is planned that the marketplaces created by them will concentrate offers from various market participants.

This will give users the opportunity to choose between competing financial products that go beyond the closed ecosystem of an organization, the Cabinet said in a statement.

It is assumed that the document signed by Mishustin will make the purchase of OSAGO electronic policies even more convenient, and marketplaces will become more functional services.

Earlier, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted in the first reading a bill, the norms of which will allow the parties to the insurance contract to exchange documents both in paper form and in electronic form. In accordance with the initiative, insurers will be able to receive information about the circumstances of road accidents and other insurance cases from external sources in an automated mode. The composition of such sources (for voluntary types of insurance) is expanding and their importance increases when considering the issue of insurance compensation.^[2]

2020

Central Bank announced the first financial marketplace in Russia

On September 9, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation announced the first financial marketplace in Russia, which will allow customers to draw up and compare financial products from different banks. It will be possible to issue a deal using the aggregator sites "Банки.ру" or "Сравни.ру."

As the Central Bank told Izvestia, to register on a platform through which bank deposits can be issued, you will need to meet once with its employee - for example, call him at home. After that, it will be possible to open deposits in any bank connected to the marketplace, without additional identification.

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation announced the country's first financial marketplace

At the same time, the regulator clarified that the connection of biometrics services by September 2020 is not available - this requires additional amendments to the legislation. The Central Bank added that the platform is planned to be made free for consumers. The costs of IT infrastructure and remote identification of customers will be paid by banks.

Among the partner banks are Gazprombank, Zenit, Дом.РФ and others. The regulator plans to complete the development of a platform for remote receipt of financial services and comparison of their value by the end of 2020.

The aggregator site "Банки.ру" is ready to launch the All-Russian marketplace from October 1, the general director of the portal Dinara Yunusova told Izvestia. The innovation of the Central Bank on the portal is positive: the population will be able to conveniently and quickly issue remote services, and competition among financial organizations should improve the quality of services.

In the "Сравни.ру" "Izvestia" reported that the project is in a high degree of readiness in terms of the client path.

According to Maxim Shapirovsky, head of the Deloitte Digital group in the CIS, one of the main goals of launching a marketplace is to increase competition in the financial market, to ensure that small and non-ecosystem banks can reach the consumer.^[3]

Central Bank of the Russian Federation launched a register of operators of financial platforms

At the end of August 2020, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation launched a register of financial platform operators, including the first two organizations there - the Moscow Exchange and VTB Registrar JSC. The regulator made appropriate notifications on its website.

As explained on the Moscow Exchange, getting into the register of financial platform operators will allow you to launch a financial services marketplace - a service that will enable individuals to compare offers online and purchase products from various banks and financial organizations. The marketplace platform will ensure the interaction of consumers and service providers: banks, financial companies. All operations will be carried out in compliance with information security requirements.

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation launched a register of operators of financial platforms, including the first two organizations there - the Moscow Exchange and VTB Registrar JSC

According to the Moscow Exchange, the first available products will be bank deposits and savings services. The platform will control all stages of concluding an agreement with the bank, from concluding contracts to conducting further operations. Also, the National Settlement Depository, which is part of the Moscow Exchange Group, will store information about contracts that were concluded through the platform and all transactions under them.

As for VTB Registrar, it should become the operator of a universal bond platform .

Earlier in August 2020, the Central Bank established requirements for banks to open special accounts by operators of financial platforms. In accordance with these rules:

• operator is not a party to financial transactions made using financial platforms
• the operator of a financial platform shall not be entitled to combine its activities with the activities of a credit institution, other non-bank financial institution, except for the activities of a trade organizer, depository, specialized depository, registrar or operator of an investment platform.

Putin signed a law on a marketplace for financial services

On July 20, 2020, the president Russia Vladimir Putin signed into law a marketplace for financial services. This was reported on the Kremlin website.

The new law defines the legal basis for the activities of financial platform operators. At the same time , the document regulates relations in the field of financial transactions between consumers and organizations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on a marketplace for financial services

In accordance with the law , financial transactions that can be made using such a platform, in particular, include transactions for the provision of banking and insurance services, services in the securities market and transactions with financial instruments.

According to the document, the registrar of financial transactions will be provided with information about transactions made using the financial platform. It will be considered reliable until proven otherwise in court.

The electronic platform operator allows the parties to the transaction to make settlements using a special account of the platform operator or. Express Checkout Systems CENTRAL BANK A special account can be opened by the operator of an electronic platform in a credit institution that is the operator of a nationally significant payment system, or in a credit institution that is assigned a credit rating not lower than the level established by the Central Bank.^[4]

The adoption of the law on the marketplace for financial services will enable citizens to control the activities of financial organizations, all transactions for consumers will be transparent, says Evgenia Lazareva, head of the ONF project "For the Rights of Borrowers."

The consumer of financial services will have the opportunity to control the activities of financial organizations by checking the information reflected in the register using his personal account on the public services portal. Imposing additional unnecessary products or forcing you to sign an agreement without familiarization is practically excluded, she said.

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