Rockets (earlier Rocketbank)

Performance Indicators

2018: The loss of Rocketbank in a year reached 1 billion rubles

In 2018 the loss of Rocketbank reached 1 billion rubles. The CEO of Qiwi Sergey Solonin connected monetary losses with a shortcoming of investors and heavy expenses on customer acquisition.

It is not enough investors, especially on average a segment where it is necessary to invest $20-50 million in order that to bring the project to some following stage from which it begins to find monetizatsionny constructions — he said in an interview to the Inc edition.

According to him, Rocketbank sustains losses because of costs for customer service, including for marketing.

The loss of Rocketbank reached 1 billion rubles

Set of clients always generates certain expenses which you are forced to reflect in the balance in the form of losses — the businessman specified.

Together with it Solonin noted that he does not consider the project unsuccessful. According to him, Rocketbank actually "the good project", but all neobanks in the world are unprofitable.

At the same time the Board of Directors of Qiwi recommends to get rid of Rocketbank. According to Kommersant, VimpelCom is interested in the project. The Qiwi confirmed maintaining with potential investors of negotiations on sale of bank.

In October, 2019 on the sidelines of a forum of the innovative Finopolis financial technologies the CEO of Qiwi Andrey Protopopov TASS reported that the company will make the decision on sale of Rocketbank or attraction of investments into it until the end of the year.

Protopopov also told that the Qiwi considers sale of the draft of maps of payment by installments Conscience and does not see sense to attract new partners in the project as it comes to planned targets.

We continue to invest in the project, but also we consider different options of further development … We on a table have different options, consider both development of multibank model, and different options of sale of a portfolio — he added.[1]

History

2021: Rocketbank in the past

Rocketbank announced in January, 2021 final closing. It published on the page in VKontakte and Instagram social network the farewell address to the clients, having thanked them for support and for the fact that used its services before the closing. "We are closed. Now it is final", said in the text of the address^[2].

The project existed nine years – the bank was founded in 2012 by entrepreneurs Oleg Kozyrev, Victor Lysenko, Alexey Kolesnikov and Mikhail Provizion. However start date of its work is considered 2013 when he began to act under control of Interkommerts bank. Founders of Rocketbank conceived it as an online service on exclusively remote service of the clients.

Rocketbank had no departments, all service of bank was provided through corporate mobile application. In other words, at the heart of Rocketbank there was infrastructure of partner bank which at the time of its start and became Interkommerts.

2020: The Qiwi closes Rocketbank

On March 24, 2020 announced Qiwi closing of Rocketbank after did not find buyers for it.

Since March 24, 2020 new clients in Rocketbank are not attracted any more. Though the virtual bank continued service of accounts of the current clients, the tariff policy and the loyalty program for them will be reviewed. Since April 1, 2020 all clients will be transferred to paid rates.

Qiwi decided to wind down the work of Rocketbank

In the report of Qiwi it is reported that heads of the companies considered option both with partial, and with complete sale of Rocketbank, and as a result "could not find the suitable buyer". According to the results of a meeting on this subject the Board of Directors of Qiwi made the decision "contract its activity".

The Qiwi expects to close completely Rocketbank by the end of 2020 and hopes that cumulative net losses from the project will not exceed 1.5 billion rubles. Curtailing business of Rocketbank, the group intends to stop marketing efforts (including canceling of the loyalty program), to reduce number of salaried employees and to raise rates. It should lead to reduction of number of clients of Rocketbank and reduction of a range of the offered services.

The Rocketbank assured that will work "before leaving of the last client". Besides, in the company did not exclude that other investors still can purchase the project.

The Qiwi is going to use practices of Rocketbank in the field of a b2b2c-segment — service self-employed. IT systems and resources of Rocketbank will be applied for this purpose, but as in Qiwi b2c-service does not want to invest in the project any more.

Along with publication of plans for closing of Rocketbank the Qiwi company announced a joint action with Tinkoff Bank. Within this action clients of Rocketbank will be able to pass into the Tinkoff ecosystem with preserving of the bonuses which are saved up in the loyalty program of service. The action extends both to acting, and to new clients of "Tinkoff".^[3]

2019

Rocketbank replaced a name with Roket and became the financial technical-company

On August 19, 2019 it became known that the Board of Directors of Qiwi decided to select Rocketbank in the separate financial technical-company which will be called Roket. Though the Qiwi will remain the owner of the organization, other investors also will be able to enter into it.

For the acting clients nothing changed, their money is still stored in QIWI Bank. The management Roket does not deny a possibility of cooperation and start of joint projects with other banks.

Rocketbank became the financial technical-company and replaced a name

We always were more, than just bank, and our interests and projects required more freedom. Transformation in the financial technical-company will give us a heap of opportunities for development, development of new banking and non-bank products. So … wait for new services, applications and surprises, says Roket.

In the report of Qiwi for the second quarter 2019 it is said that the business plan of Rocketbank is not compatible to risk level to which it is ready Qiwi. At the same time service has not enough potential for synergy with key business of Qiwi.

According to Kommersant, Rocketbank raises essential volumes of client funds and wants to direct them to the products, but not to projects of the shareholder, in particular the card of payment by installments Conscience. Experts consider that Qiwi it is not ready to incur further alone expenses on long-term development of neobank.

All current and future products "Roketa" for which providing the banking license is necessary will work within Qiwi, users should not pass into other banks. Also in Roketa did not exclude connection of services on the basis of other banks with the license.

Logo of Rocketbank. By August 20, 2019 the Roketa logo is not provided

At the same time the Board of Directors of Qiwi came to a conclusion that the investment profile of the business plan Roket is incompatible about risk appetite of Qiwi and charged to specialists to study a possibility of partial or complete sale of financial service. It is said in the financial statement of Qiwi.^[4]

Whether there are applicants for bank and what can be the cost of the transaction, in Qiwi do not comment: by August 19, 2019 search of investors is only begun.

Founders departed from operational management of Rocketbank

On March 13, 2019 there was information that founders of Rocketbank departed from operational management of credit institution at own will, and to the place of the managing director in February Anastasia Uskova who was responsible for integration of bank into Qiwi group is appointed, reported RIA Novosti in the press service of Rocketbank.

Founders of Rocketbank Alexey Kolesnikov, Oleg Kozyrev and Mikhail Provizion departed from operational management of the company. This joint solution of faunder, and the Qiwi supported it — reported in bank.

In addition to integration of Rocketbank into Qiwi group, Uskov was responsible for migration of the customer base from Otkrytiye bank. The marketing director of Rocketbank Vasily Hozyainov will be responsible for brand development and involvement of new clients.^[5]

2018: Transition to the Qiwi group

On July 24, 2018 the Rocketbank officially announced transition to Qiwi Russia and also the beginning of card issue of Qiwi for the new clients. On July 25 process of migration of old clients (for those who do not want to wait long, virtual queue is created) should be started, and the end of migration is planned for October 1.^[6]

2018: The deal on purchase of Qiwi of Rocketbank is not closed in connection with sanitation of Otkrytiye bank

In 2018 the Qiwi group acquired at Otkrytiye bank the right to brands and the software of Rocketbank and "Tochka" online banks for 700 million rubles. However the transaction on sale did not manage to be finished fully because of the begun sanitation of Otkrytiye bank.

2017

The Qiwi buys Rocketbank and Point

The Qiwi company became the owner of a brand and the software of Rocketbank and the Point (before introduction of the interim administration in FC Otkrytiye). But the transaction can be reviewed, reported in the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

Selection of Rocketbank in separate branch

In May, 2017 the supervisory board of Opening decided to select Rocketbank in separate branch as a part of credit institution.

2016: The Otkrytiye bank buys Rocketbank

The Otkrytiye bank reached in the spring of 2016 of the purchase agreement 100% of Rocketbank at founders of the company and Runa Capital venture fund. The transaction will be closed until the end of April, 2016.

"This transaction corresponds to our strategy in which the digital direction is one of crucial elements. For several months we cooperated with Rocketbank in a format of strategic partnership. For these months we were convinced that Rocketbank and its command create considerable added value, can be successful and are effectively integrated into structure of Otkrytiye. Our partnership already allows Rocketbank to attract more effectively clients at the expense of force of the Opening brand and also to considerably accelerate development of a product. On the other hand, we see the potential for use of advantages of Rocketbank - as technology, and in the field of service and client communications, - for development of other retail directions of business of Otkrytiye, - emphasized with the CEO of Otkrytiye bank Elena Budnik.

Article is devoted to questions of creation, development, operation and reliability of information systems of Otkrytiye Bank.

2015: The "bank for hipsters" estimated by Tinkov at 1 ruble will be purchased for $4.5 million

The Khanty-Mansi bank "Otkrytiye" bypassed Oleg Tinkov and his Tinkoff-bank in the transaction on purchase of "bank for hipsters" — Rocketbank. RBC with reference to the sources close to Rocketbank and Interkommerts bank which^[7] supports cards of Rocketbank reports about it ^[8].

Transaction amount will be 300 million rubles, or about $4.5 million that is 4.5 times more, than Oleg Tinkov was ready to lay out for "bank for hipsters".

Tinkov through the press service told RBC that he contacted investors of Rocketbank with the offer to purchase the company. However the owner of Tinkoff bank considered that such purchase for it "is not complementary at all". He explained that Tinkoff bank already has options similar to what offers Rocketbank. "Therefore to buy the second such product with such command which part will inevitably leave did not make any sense" — he specified.

"The Rocketbank otmuchatsya. By my calculations, the investor faunder lost $4 million, prosrat VSYO. Startups but" — Tinkov on the page in Instagram wrote (the spelling of the original is saved. — Gazeta.ru)^[9].

2014: Turnover exceeded 1 billion rub

For August, 2014 RocketBank has no license for banking activities, it provides to clients the interface for communication with bank. Banking services are rendered by Interkommerts bank. RocketBank works by the principle of virtual bank, without departments.

RocketBank from June, 2013 till beginning of August, 2014 carried out transactions for 1 billion rubles. The CEO told about it and the co-founder of the company Victor Lysenko on the Facebook^[10].

Lysenko told Roem.ru that on average turnover of the company grows for 25% a month. In July, 2014 RocketBank had a sharp jump — the volume of transactions grew by 44%, "for July from 1 billion there passed 217 million". Now the company, according to own data, distributed about 11 thousand cards.

RocketBank is going to make profit in 2015, Lysenko says. Now the company lifts a new investment round of $4 million, "on achievement of a point of operating profit". The partner of Runa Capital - the investor of the company - Andrey Bliznuk told that the fund is going further "help grow to Rocketbank as the company and to support faunder in all undertakings".

2013: Start of service, investment of $2 million from Runa Capital

Victor Lysenko, the co-founder and the CEO of the company, in the past — the co-founder and the director of one of the first Russian clones of Groupon — the discount Darberry project. Less than in six months after start Groupon redeemed a large share block of Darberry.

Service was started in the test mode in March, 2013, in August of the same year official start took place.

In October, 2013 the Runa Capital venture fund invested in RocketBank $2 million — on development of service, scaling of transactions and expansion to regions.

Notes