Electronic payment systems in Russia

Electronic means of payment - a means that allows the client of the money transfer operator to draw up, certify and transmit orders for the purpose of transferring funds using special technologies and information carriers. The electronic means of payment is non-personalized if the customer has not been identified, that is, the operator has not established the customer information.

Types of payment systems

As of February 2013, the following classification of electronic payment systems (EPS) was adopted in Russia.

Remote Financial Services

1. Mobile Payment Services

• Mobile banking
• SMS banking
• Mobile Carrier Payments
• NFC payments

2. Banking non-mobile services (Internet banking)

3. Non-banking non-mobile services (Electronic money systems)

Internet payments

In online payment systems, payment is made via the Internet. By payment type, online payment systems are divided into:

• Card payment systems - payment is made by bank cards (MIR, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, etc.) on the Internet on the website of the seller of goods or services (UCS (Yusiez Company), etc.).

• Digital cash operators - payment is made on the Internet with so-called digital cash or electronic money - a kind of internal currency that can be cashed from the relevant participants in the EPS (WebMoney, Yandex.Money, etc.).

• Payment gateways are a synergy of card systems and digital cash operators, providing ample opportunities for mutual conversion and ways to pay for goods and services on the Internet. It is worth noting that a significant part of the existing EPS belongs precisely to the gateways, despite the fact that many of them distinguish a certain type of payments as dominant (ChronoPay (Chronopay), Assist, etc.).

Terminals

• Bank terminals
• Non-Bank Terminals or Payment Terminals (Instant Payment Systems)

Acquiring

• Acquiring (processing)

Central Bank - regulator of the payment systems market

Since July 2012, the Bank of Russia has been officially charged with overseeing payment systems. According to the estimates of Vladislav Kontorovich, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia, by the end of 2012, according to the new rules, about 50-70 payment systems can be registered in Russia.

• Central Bank policy in the field of information protection (cybersecurity)

Market Size and Structure

2019

BCG spoke about the "Russian miracle" in the field of card payments

From 2010 to 2018, the number of non-cash card transactions in Russia increased 30 times. At the same time, Russia has become the world leader in the number of secure tokenized transactions.

Up until 2028, revenue in the European card payments market will grow by about 5.9% per year, predicts the international consulting company The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). At the same time, the Eastern European market, according to the company's forecast received by RBC, will grow significantly faster than the Western European market - 7.4% versus 5% per year. BCG calls Russia the main locomotive of the Eastern European market.

"Russia is feeding much of this expansion. The combination of cheap retail financing, high market concentration and large investments in technology contributed to the creation of a "Russian miracle," the BCG report says.

According to her, in 2010-2018 the volume of payments in Russia grew by an average of 22.1%, in 2019-2028 the growth will decrease to 11.8%, however, after that, Russia will be ahead of all other countries considered in the study (only 58).

Managing Director and Partner of BCG and Head of Digital Expert Practice in Russia and the CIS Max Hauser explained that in 2010-2018 in Russia there was a "phenomenal" increase in the number of non-cash card transactions. Over the years, it has grown almost 30 times - from 5.8 to 172 per year per person.

"According to this indicator, Russia has overtaken all European countries, including leaders who have shown two- and threefold growth over the same period. The reasons for this success are that the actions of each of the participants in the transition to non-cash transactions worked for each other as catalysts, fueling and intensifying rapid development, "Hauser emphasized.

BCG notes that thanks to the "Russian miracle," Russia has become the largest market in Europe in terms of transactions using digital wallets and the world leader in the number of secure tokenized transactions.

Mediascope: Electronic payments of Russians

Mediascope studied how and for what residents of Russia paid online in 2018-2019. It turned out that in general, the share of users who periodically pay via the Internet has not changed much. At the same time, the number of those who are calculated online for taxis, hotel reservations and the purchase of transport tickets has grown, and there are slightly fewer users who send money transfers and pay for online games. Most often, people use bank cards, Sberbank Online and Yandex.Money to pay.

What they pay for: more often for taxis and less often for games

Most of the users already have experience in online payment for mobile communications (85.8%), purchases in online stores (81%) and housing and communal services (74%). These categories have been among the most popular for several years. Over the year, the share of online payers in them has not changed.

The share of users who pay online for a taxi is growing most dynamically. Over the year, it grew by almost 12% - from 45.4% in 2018 to 50.8% in 2019. Interestingly, young people were more likely to pay for taxis - about 64% of respondents aged 18 to 24 years and almost 63% in the group from 25 to 34 years. Among the audience from 35 to 44 years old, 50% of respondents paid online, and in the group from 45 to 55 years old - only 39%. The number of people who book hotels and buy transport tickets via the Internet has also grown - by about 3% in each category.

In only two categories, the share of users who pay online has decreased - these are money transfers (from 57.2% to 55%) and online games (from 28.5% to 25.3%).

What users of different ages pay on the Internet

Bank cards remain the most popular means of paying online. 90.5% of Russians used them for the year. 89.7% were paid through Internet banking, 77.6% with electronic money.

The most active online payment audience is users from 25 to 34 years old. 82.2% of respondents to this age group paid with electronic money, 93.9% through Internet banking. The largest share of bank card users in the older group is from 35 to 44 years old (94.4%).

Sberbank Online has traditionally remained the leader among online payment services. With its help, 83.2% of Russians paid at least once a year. Yandex.Money turned out to be the second most popular service - every second Runet user (52.8%) was calculated through them. The top three also included PayPal (46.1%). In fourth and fifth places were electronic wallets WebMoney and (QIWI 39.9% and 36.9%, respectively). About a quarter of respondents paid online through Internet banking, and VTB. Alfa-Bank Tinkoff Bank

Through the VK Pay service, which entered the market later than other electronic wallets, 15.4% of users were calculated. Basically, this method is chosen by a young audience: the largest share of service users is from 18 to 24 years old. Other electronic money services have the most users in the group from 25 to 34 years old. Nevertheless, even the audience of 18-24 years old has the most popular payment services - Sberbank Online (83.2%), Yandex.Money (45%), QIWI (40.6%).

Contactless payments: growth continues

Contactless payments are most popular with audiences from 25 to 34 years old (57.3%). On average, 44.8% of Russians used them over the year, a year earlier - 38.3%.

Among contactless systems, Google Pay is in the lead, the number of users of which has grown from 19.6% to 22.9% over the year. 18.9% of respondents paid through Apple Pay, 15.5% through Samsung Wallet (formerly Samsung Pay). Garmin Pay has a noticeably smaller audience - with its help, about 2% of respondents were calculated. However, among users aged 18-24, Apple Pay took first place (29%). Most Google Pay users in the group are between 25 and 34 years old. Samsung Pay traditionally closes the top three. For people from 35 to 44 years old, the Korean service turned out to be more popular than Apple Pay, but it could not overtake Google Pay.

Online card shopping growth more than triples in the first half of the year

On August 15, 2019 Bank Russian Standard , he announced that he had studied statistics data on the growth dynamics of online operations performed on to cards all banks in his network Internetmerchant acquiring. Thus, according to the bank, the growth in turnover in Internet acquiring amounted to 255% (compared to the same period in 2018), and the total number of online transactions increased by 283%. More. here

2016: Platron Data

Analysts of the electronic payment service Platron collected statistics for 2015-2016 on online payment by bank cards, electronic cash and other methods. The study used data on 8.5 million transactions made on three thousand Internet sites connected to the Platron electronic payment service.

A bank card is the most popular payment method in both 2015 and 2016. But despite a significant increase in transactions, the average check in 2016 decreased by 30% compared to 2015 and amounted to 5400 rubles. This trend is observed in all payment methods: on average, the decrease in the average check is 20-30%, depending on the payment method.

If we talk about the use of premium cards for payment online, then their share has not changed and was recorded at around 29%. This does not mean that the issue of premium cards is declining, but only confirms that global changes in this segment are not happening. Although the amount of the average check, as in other categories, turned out to be lower than in 2015, despite the same increase in the number of transactions. In 2015, the amount of the average check was a little more than 11,000 rubles, according to the results of 2016 - 8300.

The receipt of such data is explained by the unstable economic situation, and in this regard, a change in the purchasing power of Russians of any social status.

The high growth in 2016 was shown by the field of online lending. Compared to 2015, demand for online loans increased by 20%. Moreover, this loan product is successfully used not only by banks, but also by electronic payment systems, online stores, microfinance organizations and many others.

Despite the fact that credit organizations tried to launch loan programs for specific purchases on the Web a few years ago, few stores supported them - most of the buyers preferred to first see the goods, feel, try on, and then only pay in cash. Since then, a lot has changed: the solvency of the population has fallen, installments have become more attractive, electronic payments have become more common. According to Platron analysts, the average check of purchases using the online lending service is 6 times or 80% (!) Higher than the average check of payment by bank card and is a record 34,000 rubles. Experts have no doubt that the form of online lending will be popular with Russians, and this is an undoubted trend for the coming years.

Payment with electronic money is still popular, and is even on the rise: the average check has grown by 20%. This is due to an increase in tariffs for certain services for which users prefer to pay with this method. In 2016, the amount on the average check amounted to 1,500 rubles, and payment took place for: cellular communications, Internet access, housing and communal services, online games, fines and taxes.

Analysts note that one of the trends in 2017 will be the growing popularity of online banking. Since 2015, the number of buyers who prefer this method has increased from 2% to 5%, and the average check has grown by 20% and amounted to 3,000 rubles. The choice of this payment method is explained by the fact that it looks safer for the user than entering personal data on the sites of unfamiliar online stores. Interest in the method is growing, but it is too early to talk about competition with payment by bank cards, the turnover of which, according to the Platron online electronic payment service, amounted to 82% in 2016.

Numerous online stores offering payment only with cards and electronic money should pay attention to the increase in the number of users who chose payment terminals, which are most in demand in the regions. Mobile payments are also growing, but do not forget that payment via SMS is used mainly with a low check amount, which, according to Platron, does not exceed 250 rubles.

As of January 01, 2017, 575 commercial banks operate in Russia. At the beginning of 2016, the number of operating banks in the Russian Federation was 681. Thus, in 2016, the banking system of the Russian Federation decreased by 106 banks.

According to a study by Platron, the most popular online shopping cards are Sberbank, Alfa-Bank and VTB24. In 2016, more than 69% of transactions were carried out on these cards.

In 2015, Raiffeisen Bank and Tinkoff Bank took the 4th and 5th position on online purchases. In 2016, they switched places. According to experts, this is due to an active advertising campaign conducted by Tinkoff Bank throughout Russia.

The changes also affected Svyaznoy Bank (until 2010 Promtorgbank), which was among the top ten in terms of the number of transactions and turnover, but due to the suspension of work, in 2016 Rosbank took its place, despite the fact that the number of transactions by its clients was 10% less than in 2015.

2015

uBank forecast

According to uBank forecasts, in 2015 the volume of the Russian electronic payment market may amount to 3000-3500 billion rubles. There will be a significant increase in the share of non-bank services, which now occupy 1/3 of the total market volume, and in 2015 their share may reach 40%.

RAEX Data (RA Expert)

In July 2016, the Rating Agency RAEX (Expert RA) published the results of its study of the functionality of Internet banking systems for individuals. The total volume of online payments by individuals in 2015 increased by less than 1% and amounted to 1.7 trillion, rubles while from 2010 to 2014 the average growth rate was 44%.

The reason for the weak dynamics is the general decrease by 9% in the volume of transactions of individuals in 2015 - this is the reaction of bank customers to shocks associated with the devaluation of the national currency and a decrease in real income. The number of online payments of individuals in 2015 fell by 5%, to 88 million units. The decrease in the number of transactions was partly facilitated by a structural change in the market: at the end of 2015, the share of payments made via the Internet fell from 40 to 35%. The number of payments made by customers through SMS messages has more than tripled, and their share in the total number of transactions of individuals over the year increased from 2 to 5%. Bank customers began to use SMS banking more often instead of classic Internet banking for transfers and payment of services for small amounts. The reason is the active work of banks and mobile operators to carry out a number of operations carried out through SMS messages.

According to RAEX (Expert RA), in 2016 the volume of online payments will show a modest increase of 6-9% due to the work of banks to automate part of client operations and the growth of the share of active users.

MARC: 588 billion rubles, leader - Yandex.Kassa

According to the MARC research center at the end of 2015, RBK Money was used by 3% of Russian sites that accept online payments for goods and services. In total, there are 88 thousand such sites. The most popular payment solution is Yandex.Kassa, which at the end of 2015 was used by 24% of sites. Following are Robokassa (20%), Interkassa (5%) and Unitpay (4%). The volume of the online payments market, according to the Russian Association of Electronic Associations, amounted to 588 billion rubles in 2015.

2014

PriceFree: - 55% drop

According to the estimates of the analytical department of the PriceFree payment and discount system, the volume of the electronic payment market in Russia in 2014 decreased by about 50-55% compared to the same indicators a year earlier. Experts believe that the volume of electronic payments in dollar terms reached the level of $33-35 billion in 12 months of last year against $70 billion a year earlier^[1] by^[2]

"There are a number of competing factors that together contributed to the overall negative trend, or, conversely, smoothed out the fall," said PriceFree PR director Max Ognev. "Of course, the main point was a significant devaluation of the Russian currency, which blocked all other factors here in its significance."

The next negative point, he said, was the beginning of the slide of the Russian economy into an economic recession and a significant outflow of capital, which took place in all market segments and played a significant role here.

the middle of the year, geopolitical risks, currency turbulence, and a decrease in the client's solvency together became a definite shock for the entire segment: from spring to almost the end of autumn, we observed an actual suspension in investment projects. In this regard, the situation begins to revive only now, when startups are becoming more and more attractive, "says Max Ognev

In his opinion, it is worth highlighting certain segments that acted as the "leaders" of the fall. "For example, money transfers are actively integrated into electronic payments. Due to the devaluation of the Russian currency, both the volume of the sector and the client portfolio decreased significantly. Working migrants began to leave the country, seeing the futility of earnings in the Russian ruble. A significant subsidence of the remittance sector ricocheted across the entire segment of electronic payments, "said a representative of PriceFree.

Among the smoothing factors of the fall, the company named the inertia of speed, which the growth of the electronic payment market gained until 2014. It almost grew multiple, as did the capitalization of players working in this segment.

According to PriceFree, all segments of the electronic payment market have seriously adjusted in dollar terms: the segment of electronic wallets fell almost 3 times (to $1.3- $1.7 billion), online shopping fell about 2.5 times. The reason for this was not only the depreciation of the ruble, but also a significant subsidence of the entire tourism industry, orders from which were largely paid online (buying tickets, booking hotels), the company explained. In this segment, with its significant turnover in 2013, according to PriceFree estimates, there was a drop from $13 billion to $5 billion in the past year.

"In the prepaid card segment, for example, we saw a change congruent to the jump in the dollar exchange rate," the expert said. And, nevertheless, Ognev noted a positive outlook on the future of the entire market, adding that, although 2015 will not be an easy year, it will bring "a significant increase in attractiveness in new and new investments due to the cheapness of the economy itself."

"In terms of investments in the electronic payment market, Russia remains one of the leaders in the world," Max Ognev believes. - This applies to the entire sector: electronic wallets, prepaid cards, etc. We believe that in 2015 the growth rate of investment attractiveness will continue to grow. This is a good field for those looking for new channels for investment, actively monitoring new projects in the field of electronic payments and commerce. "

J’son & Partners Consulting

J'son & Partners Consulting presented in the summer of 2015 the results of an updated study of the Russian electronic money market in 2014, its turnover in 2014 amounted to 590 billion rubles.

According to the company's estimates, the turnover of payments through electronic money systems increases annually, with a CAGR of 53% over the past three years.

As the study showed, the development of the market is due to many factors, including: the development of services - an increase in the number of services and goods available for payment from various suppliers, an increase in the quality of display cases, additional opportunities for entering and withdrawing funds and using virtual bank cards; increased penetration by payment integrators to pay for goods and services, for example, using electronic money directly on the supplier's side; constantly growing trust of the population in non-cash payment funds affecting the penetration of services.

According to J'son & Partners Consulting, in 2014, the turnover of user payments through electronic money systems amounted to 0.6 trillion rubles, which is 34% more than last year's result. According to the company's forecasts, the rapid growth of the market will continue in the next 5 years, which will allow its volume to exceed 1.1 trillion rubles by the end of 2019.

2013: J'son & Partners: + 27% growth

According to J'son & Partners, the EPS market turnover in Russia in 2013 amounted to 2.4 trillion rubles, showing an increase of 27% compared to 2012. The turnover of payments through electronic money systems for the year increased by 43% and amounted to 0.44 trillion rubles, or 18% of the turnover of the EPS market. Also, according to J'son & Partners Consulting, the number of transactions in the e-money segment increased by 22% over the year to 0.55 billion.

The significant growth of the market is associated both with the expansion of the possibilities of using electronic money (improving the functionality of mobile versions, expanding the list of services available for payment, etc.), and with the ability of most players to replenish accounts directly from bank cards and issue virtual cards.

On May 16, 2014, amendments to laws No. 115-FZ and No. 161-FZ come into force, introducing a number of restrictions on the activities of electronic money operators in Russia.

According to Marina Martynova, director of Intervale Kazahstan LLP, the turnover of the Electronic Payment Systems (EPS) market in Russia in 2013 amounted to more than $65 billion. At the same time, the turnover of remote financial services, which are part of the EPS market, in 2013 exceeded $35 billion and will amount to 49% (the remaining 51% are payment terminals) of the estimated turnover of the EPS market. In 2018, the share of the turnover of remote financial services in the EPS will be 70%. At the same time, the lion's share of growth will come from mobile remote financial services, which are provided by both banks and non-bank institutions (electronic funds systems).

2012: Restco Holding: + 24% growth

According to a study conducted by specialists of Restko Holding, in 2012 the market turnover increased from 1,460 billion rubles. up to 1,811 billion rubles, that is, by 24%.

A quarter of Internet users Russia have ever paid online, almost 30% of the audience online payments are residents of the Moscow region. Half of the transactions are made using a bank card, and the average payment amount in the country is 2800. rubles This was told by the Sales Director of the International Processing Center at PayU Group Kozyakov Peter ECOM Expo '2013.

In his report "Facts and Figures: Online Payments as an Engine of E-Commerce in Russia," Pyotr Kozyakov presented the results of a joint study by the PayU International Processing Center and Data Insight Agency (Data Insight). According to him, online payments in Russia are becoming more and more popular: 17 million Russians aged 18 to 65 have ever paid for goods and services online. The adult Internet audience in Russia reaches 68 million people, of which 25% are users of online payments. At least once a month, 12 million people pay on the Internet.

As PayU and Data Insight found out, the majority of online payment users are young people under 35 (61%). Men pay online more often than women - 56% and 44%, respectively. In the first case, the peak of activity occurs in about 30 years, in the second it occurs up to 25 years.

The income of those users who actively pay on the network is 15-50 thousand rubles a month. The higher it is, the more likely a person makes online payments. This dependence is especially pronounced in both capitals. Almost a third - 29% of online payment users live in the Moscow region, 9% are in St. Petersburg with the region. The largest non-capital region in terms of the number of users of online payments is the Volga region (16%). If we consider the data in the context of settlements, then 58% of online payment users live in cities with a population of more than 300 thousand people, and 28% are in two capitals. Even in rural areas there are those who pay on the Internet, there are more than 2 million of them.

"Every year the number of Russians who prefer cashless payments on the network is growing in large numbers. For example, in 2011 it increased by 3.9 million people, and in 2012 - already by 4.3 million. The audience of online payments is growing significantly faster than the online audience as a whole, - comments Pyotr Kozyakov, Sales Director of PayU. - Nevertheless, the growth reserve in the online payment industry is still huge - this is the unreached Internet audience in both capitals, as well as almost the entire territory of Russia, where broadband Internet has not yet managed to penetrate. With the arrival of high speeds and a high-quality connection to the regions, we can expect another "boom" in online payments. "

According to the results of the study, 7 million Russians can be called active users of online payments. The representative of this category is calculated on the network twice a week. The average frequency of online payments is 3.8 payments per month, the average online payment is 2,800 rubles. At the same time, half of the transactions do not exceed 600 rubles, and 18% are amounts less than 200 rubles. Large payments (5,000 rubles or more) account for only 15% of transactions, but they provide 73% of the total volume of online payments. 63% of users pay with a bank card, 30-35% use electronic money or Internet banking, and 27% pay online from a mobile phone account. Bank cards lead not only in the number of users, but also in the number of transactions - 52% of online payments are made with their help.

The most popular category of payments is cellular communication and other communication services, followed by housing and communal services, taxes and fines, tickets and travel services, goods in online stores. The largest payments are in the online-travel segment, the smallest - in the segment of paid online services, and cellular services are in second place from the end. Tickets and travel services account for only 7% of the total number of online payments, but 40% of the volume.

According to J'son & Partners Consulting (February 2013), the turnover of the EPS market in Russia in 2012 amounted to 1,811 billion rubles, showing an increase of 24% compared to the same indicator in 2011.

The turnover of remote financial services, which are part of the EPS market, in 2012 will exceed 890 billion rubles and will amount to 49% of the estimated turnover of the EPS market. It is expected that in 2017 the share of the turnover of remote financial services in EPS will be 70%.

According to J'son & Partners Consulting estimates, in 2012 the turnover of the remote financial services market amounted to 896 billion rubles, an increase of 48% compared to the same indicator in 2011. By the end of 2017, the market will exceed 2.6 trillion rubles, while the average annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2012 to 2017 will be 24%.

There were significant changes in the structure of the remote financial services market turnover from 2008 to 2012. Thus, the share of non-bank services (electronic money) increased from 12% to 31% due to a decrease in the share of banking services. According to J'son & Partners Consulting forecasts, by 2017 the share of non-banking services will decrease by 5% in favor of banking and mobile services.

Electronic Payment Security

Main article: Security of electronic payments

Bank card fraud

Main article: Bank card and payment fraud

Key Trends in Bank Payment Protection

Main Article: Key Trends in Bank Payment Protection

Security of contactless payments

Main article: Security of contactless payments

History

2024: Sberbank, Alfa-Bank and T-Bank signed an agreement on the development of a single payment QR code

At the end of September 2024, Sberbank, Alfa-Bank and T-Bank signed a memorandum on the creation of a consortium for the development of new payment solutions, primarily a single QR code. The agreement was signed by the President of Sberbank of Russia German Gref, the head of Alfa-Bank JSC Vladimir Verkhoshinsky and the Chairman of the Board of T-Bank JSC Stanislav Bliznyuk. Read more here.

2023

Authorities will ban marketplaces from writing off money from remote user cards

The Russian authorities have developed a bill prohibiting marketplaces from writing off the money of user cards "untied" from the profile.

A user of a particular online store can connect several cards to his profile for payment, and then delete them, leaving only one. But in fact, the cards will be removed exclusively from the personal account and will be saved in the archive of the store itself, and if there is not enough money on the remaining card to pay for the order, it will write off the money from one of the detached accounts.

Such write-offs are usually carried out without warning. Sometimes the money can be taken from a relative or friend's card, which the profile owner could use one or more times to pay (with the permission of the holder). The cardholder is also not notified of the impending charge, and he will be able to find out about it only in the "History" section of the. mobile application bank

The Russian authorities are going to end such arbitrariness of marketplaces. State Duma deputies from United Russia will submit for consideration a bill prohibiting stores from writing off money from remote cards until the end of the spring session, which will last until July 30, 2023.

The document is an amendment to the law "On the Protection of Consumer Rights." If it is adopted by the State Duma and the Federation Council, and then receives the signature of the head of state, then the Russians will have the opportunity to punish marketplaces for such write-offs with lawsuits.

We drew attention to the problem after complaints from citizens. - said the coordinator of the party project "Digital Russia," State Duma deputy Anton Nemkin. - Checked the information, and it turned out that these are not isolated, but massive cases: affected buyers in social networks constantly post screenshots with technical support answers, where customers are explained that such write-offs comply with the policy of some companies.

According to the deputy, to prohibit debiting from a particular card when buying in an online store, you just need to remove it from your personal account. But marketplaces have found a way to bypass this restriction, allowing them to reach money for any of the cards previously used by the buyer. They began to include in their user agreements a clause allowing them such "amateur activities," and if a Russian wants to use these trading platforms, he has to agree with their terms. If no delays arise in the consideration and adoption of the document, then the provisions set out in it will enter into force on March 1, 2024, said Anton Nemkin.

The first and most reliable way to protect other people's accounts from debits by marketplaces is to issue a separate card for such transactions and not use others. In the meantime, the authorities are preparing a bill prohibiting trading floors from taking money from remote cards, banks came to the aid of Russian consumers.

For example, in November 2022, a section appeared in the Sberbank Online application for Android and its web version, in which you can see which services a particular card is connected to. All subscriptions with periodic debits are also displayed here - for an online cinema, music service, etc. This information will allow you to quickly disconnect the card from the service so as not to lose money. Also, Sberbank Online has the option of completely banning Internet payments from a specific card - if you activate it, then services will no longer be able to get to the money on this card^[3].

2022

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation has registered a new payment system. It will allow you to transfer money abroad without opening an account

In April 2022, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation registered a new payment system - Hello. The service operator is Transcapitalbank, which, as of February 1, 2022, ranked 38th in terms of assets among Russian credit institutions. Read more here.

Book publishers ask the Central Bank and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to close pirates access to gray payment systems

The Russian Book Union asked the Central Bank, the Federal Tax Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to strengthen control over money transfers on pirated sites. This became known on January 11, 2022. Read more here.

2021

The Central Bank ordered payment applications to introduce support for Mir cards

At the end of November 2021, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation issued a new instruction for payment application operators - they will have to provide support for Mir cards. The companies were given almost two years to do this.

The supplier of the payment application is obliged to ensure that the clients of the money transfer operator are able to use national payment instruments using the payment application provided to them, if the conditions for its use provide for the use of payment cards, the regulatory act published on the regulator's website says.

The Central Bank ordered payment applications to introduce support for Mir cards

In addition, as stated in the document, the supplier of a payment application, the terms of which provide for the use of payment cards, in order to ensure the ability of the operator's customers to transfer funds to use national payment instruments using such a payment application, is obliged to undergo a testing (integration) procedure in accordance with the rules of the national payment card system.

The requirement will come into force in October 2023. By the end of November 2021, the register of payment application suppliers in Russia includes 63 organizations, including Apple and Samsung, which have already implemented the ability to pay for purchases with Mir cards (in the App Store and Samsung Pay, respectively). From October 26, 2021, this feature was also added to Google Pay.

The register for the most part consists of Russian companies. For example, it has Sberbank, MTS operator, Wildberries online store, etc. Many companies present in the list have already implemented support for Mir cards in their payment systems.

According to the Central Bank, by October 2021, 108.6 million Mir cards were issued in Russia. According to the issue of the Mir card, almost a third of the market occupied - 32.3%.^[4]

Russia ranked first in the world in the use of contactless payments

Russia ranked first in the world in the use of contactless payments. This was announced in November 2021 by Pavel Novikov, director of the center for innovation in the financial sector of the Skolkovo Foundation.

In a conversation with TASS, Pavel Novikov noted that the penetration rate of fintech services in the Russian Federation is 82%, which is the third indicator in the world after India and China.

Russia leads the world in the use of contactless payments

The fact that contactless payment technologies for goods and services are widespread in Russia, the country is a world leader in their use, said the head of Mastercard in the Russian Federation Alexei Malinovsky earlier in 2021. According to the company, the penetration rate of contactless payments in Russia was 78%.

According to Novikov, there are many definitions of fintech, "banks, insurance companies, brokers, exchanges, regulators, venture funds and technology companies are involved." At the same time, fintech companies, by their nature, "disrap" banks, that is, they play against banks and eat away "pieces" from them, destroy old business models due to hyperautomatization, artificial intelligence, speed and a better understanding of the needs of the end user.

Historically, Russia has developed a unique environment in which leading banks are often not inferior to startups in the quality and set of services. The only thing where startups are certainly leading is the speed of bringing breakthrough products and technologies to the market by quickly testing hypotheses and an ultra-subtle understanding of customer needs, "explained a representative of the Skolkovo Foundation.

Among the main areas in which Russian banks are interested by November 2021, he highlighted:

• non-banks;
• payment services;
• financial marketplaces and wallets;
• embedded finance, personal finance management;
• loyalty program solutions;
• technologies for secure processing of personal data;
• cybersecurity;
• banking automation and cloud technologies.^[5]

Visa and Mastercard will introduce fees for the use of 3D Secure technology

International payment systems Visa MasterCard and will make the transaction confirmation service 3D Secure paid for. banks This became known in September 2021.

The commission will be introduced for the use by banks of the 3D Secure service - an authorization protocol for online payments, which requires you to enter a code from SMS or push messages to confirm the transaction.

Visa introduces a commission for using the 3D Secure service only for cross-border transactions, when conducting transactions between participants in the payment system within the country, the commission will still not be charged.

{{quote "For banks participating in the Visa Payment System in Russia, a commission is actually introduced for using the 3D Secure 1.0.2 service. when processing only cross-border transactions. This measure is designed to stimulate banks to switch to using the more current EMV 3D Secure protocol, the payment system said. }}

Visa will have a commission in effect from October 16, 2021. For versions of the 3D Secure service from 2.1, the commission will begin to operate on October 15, 2022.

Mastercard will have a commission for the use of 3D Secure from March 1, 2022. At the same time, it will have a fixed part - 1000 euros per month from both acquirers and issuers.

As the newspaper notes, thus, large banks have additional costs for the commission for the use of 3D Secure on Visa cards can amount to 300 thousand dollars a year, and more than this amount - on Mastercard^[6].

Russians were obliged to report to the Federal Tax Service on transfers through foreign electronic wallets

From July 1, 2021, the law on the obligation of residents to inform the tax authorities about the transfer of funds in the amount of more than 600 thousand rubles a year through foreign electronic wallets comes into force.

The document was initiated by a group of deputies and senators headed by Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, and amends the law "On Currency Regulation and Currency Control."

According to the current legislation, citizens are obliged to annually report on the movement of funds on foreign accounts if the total amount of funds credited or debited for the year exceeds 600 thousand rubles. Exception - if the account is opened countries EEU in or countries with which Russia there is an automatic exchange of financial. information

The law introduced the same order for foreign electronic wallets. At the same time, citizens must also report when transfers are sent to the EAEU countries or with which there is an automatic exchange of such information.

In addition, the law introduced a ban on the use of foreign payment service providers for transfers without opening a bank account to pay for goods (works, services), the results of intellectual activity, as well as operations related to the implementation of foreign trade activities or loan agreements.

Earlier, the President of Russia signed a law introducing administrative responsibility for non-compliance with the procedure for submitting reports to tax authorities on transfers of over 600 thousand rubles a year through foreign electronic wallets. The law will enter into force on October 1, 2021^[7].

Mir cards overtook Visa and MasterCard in population coverage - 42%

According to the Center for Research on Financial Technologies and Digital Economics of the Skolkovo Business School, which were released in mid-June 2021, Mir overtook Visa and MasterCard in terms of population coverage with bank cards. Read more here.

Putin signed a law on fines for hiding funds in electronic wallets

On June 11, 2021, it became known that the president Russia Vladimir Putin signed a law on fines for hiding funds in electronic wallets. We are talking about money transfers without opening a bank account using electronic means of payment provided by foreign payment service providers.

The obligation to send reports on such transfers within the deadlines determined by law arises if over 600 thousand rubles are credited to a foreign electronic wallet for the reporting year. The law will come into force on October 1, 2021.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law introducing administrative responsibility for non-compliance with the procedure for submitting reports to tax authorities on transfers of over 600 thousand rubles a year through foreign electronic wallets

If the deadlines are violated, a warning will be issued or an administrative fine will be imposed, depending on the number of days in arrears. For the use of a foreign electronic wallet with unreported reporting, a fine is provided in the amount of 20% to 40% of the credited funds.

For non-compliance with the procedure for submitting reports, citizens will pay a fine in the amount of 2 thousand to 3 thousand rubles, officials - from 4 thousand to 5 thousand, legal entities - from 40 thousand to 50 thousand. And with a repeated violation of this order, the fine for citizens will increase to 20 thousand rubles, for officials - up to 30-40 thousand, for legal entities - up to 400-600 thousand rubles.

For a delay in submitting a report for no more than 10 days, the bill provides for a warning or fine for citizens in the amount of 300 to 500 rubles, for officials - from 500 rubles to 1 thousand rubles, for legal entities - from 5 thousand to 15 thousand rubles.

If the deadline for submitting a report for 11-30 days is violated, the fine for citizens will already be 1-1.5 thousand rubles, for officials - 2-3 thousand rubles, for legal entities - 20-30 thousand. Violation of the term for more than 30 days will entail fines of 2.5-3 thousand, 4-5 thousand and 40-50 thousand rubles, respectively.^[8]

In Russia, a ban on the replenishment of anonymous electronic wallets came into force

On April 1, 2021, a ban on the replenishment of anonymous electronic wallets came into force in Russia. From this day on, such wallets can only be replenished from a linked bank account.

As the TASS Information Agency of Russia notes, participants in the payment market previously expressed concerns that this restriction will affect a number of transport cards, which are classified by the regulator as an anonymous electronic wallet. Thus, according to the Association of Banks of Russia, for example, in the Lipetsk region, credit institutions issued more than 500 thousand transport cards serving 80% of transport turnover. At the same time, the ADB notes that about 68% of such cards are replenished with cash.

Viktor Dostov, head of the Association of Electronic Money and Money Transfer Market Participants, also warned about the negative consequences of the law. In his opinion, the new ban will lead to a slow process of depersonalization of payments.

In the Russian Federation, a ban on the replenishment of anonymous electronic wallets came into force

Most likely, this is a time mine that can greatly slow down the depersonalization of Russian payments. The anonymous wallet has always been an entry tool. The person opened an anonymous wallet, used it, then understood that it was convenient, and underwent simplified identification. That is, an anonymous wallet is not important in itself. It is important that this is a good and convenient tool for entering the non-cash and high-tech payment market, the expert told TASS.

He added that the number of electronic wallets in Russia is in the tens of millions. Traditionally, anonymous wallets could be replenished with cash. Now this channel is closed, which will also negatively affect the profits of payment terminal operators.

According to Viktor Dostov, due to the ban on cash replenishment of anonymous electronic wallets, profits will fall both through direct replenishment and through payment for a number of services, which was technologically carried out through electronic wallets.^[9]

2020

The State Duma adopted a law giving the Central Bank the right to limit the commission of payment systems

On December 16, 2020, it became known that the State Duma adopted in the final, third reading a law that gives the Central Bank the right to restrict payments to bank payment systems (Visa, MasterCard, Mir and others) for making transfers from cards.

Amendments were made to the second reading of the bill (N909884-7). They make changes to the powers of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank.

"If necessary (the board of directors of the Central Bank - ed.) Determines the maximum values ​ ​ of the amount of remuneration established by operators of payment systems and paid by credit institutions within payment systems for making transfers of funds using payment cards," follows from the adopted law, which Interfax got acquainted with.

The norm will enter into force 10 days after the official publication of the law.

In 2019, the State Duma endowed the Central Bank with the authority to limit the tariffs of commissions that the bank takes from retailers when cashless payment of customers (acquiring). The Central Bank used this right and, as an anti-crisis measure, until September 30, 2020 limited the commission of banks for a number of online operations and for paying for medical services to 1%. Following the decision of the Central Bank to limit acquiring commissions for online purchases, many banks changed the terms of loyalty programs, reducing the size of cashback for customers.^[10]

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation may receive the right to limit the commission of payment systems charged from banks

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation may receive the right to limit bank payments to payment systems (Visa, MasterCard, Mir and others) for making transfers from cards, the corresponding bill was prepared by State Duma deputies . This became known on December 10, 2020.

The amendments are planned to be considered at a meeting of the State Duma Financial Market Committee. They make changes to the powers of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank.

If necessary (the board of directors of the Central Bank - ed.) Determines the maximum values ​ ​ of the amount of remuneration established by operators of payment systems and paid by credit institutions within payment systems for making money transfers using payment cards - follows from the bill.

If adopted, the norm will enter into force 10 days after its official publication. In 2019, the State Duma endowed the Central Bank with the authority to limit the tariffs of commissions that the bank takes from retailers when cashless payment of customers (acquiring). The Central Bank used this right and, as an anti-crisis measure, until September 30, 2020 limited the commission of banks for a number of online operations and for paying for medical services to 1%. Following the decision of the Central Bank to limit acquiring commissions for online purchases, many banks changed the terms of loyalty programs, reducing the size of cashback for customers. At the end of November, speaking in the State Duma, the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina noted that it is important to treat such steps as temporary.

The market should develop, as prices should be formed - under the influence of competition, struggle for the client. Our financial system historically has a large share of large players, and the Bank of Russia is creating infrastructure so that smaller banks can compete with large ones. This is the SBP (Fast Payment System) - it is already transforming the market for payments from person to person, the so-called C2C payments, and now banks will have to provide and accept payments by QR code, that is, from people to trade and service enterprises. And this is an alternative to traditional acquiring, competition for how the payment will be made. This will affect, in particular, the level of commissions, - said Nabiullina[11] the [12].

A law has been passed forcing Russians to report on the contents of foreign electronic wallets

On December 9, 2020, the State Duma adopted in the first reading a bill obliging citizens to report to the Federal Tax Service on the movement of funds through their foreign electronic wallets.

Russian residents will have to provide the tax authorities with information on credited funds to electronic wallets in foreign financial organizations in the amount of 600 thousand rubles or more. According to Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market (headed the development of the bill), it is this figure that is spelled out in the legislation on countering the legalization of capital obtained by crime and the financing of terrorism.

The State Duma adopted a bill obliging citizens to report to the Federal Tax Service on the movement of funds through their foreign electronic wallets

According to the authors of the document, in accordance with the norms of the current currency legislation, residents are obliged to provide the tax authorities with reports on the use of accounts opened with foreign banks, but there is no such obligation in relation to electronic means of payment. This "reduces the effectiveness of control measures for compliance with currency legislation and does not contribute to minimizing risks in the field of combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, as well as information security."

As of November 2, 2020, published on the Central Bank website, the list of foreign providers of payment services, namely, they are discussed in the text of the bill, includes 23 companies, among them - the Chinese payment system Alipay, the payment system Garmin Pay (UK), Royal Pay (Latvia), Profee and TenPay (Cyprus), UnitPay (Czech Republic ), Alokabank payment system (Uzbekistan), six payment systems of Kyrgyzstan , Private Payment Institution (Hong Kong), as well as a number of systems registered in the USA and Great Britain.

The bill also introduces a ban on the use of foreign payment service providers for transfers without opening a bank account to pay for goods, the results of intellectual activity, as well as operations related to the implementation of foreign trade activities or loan agreements.

Violation of the procedure for submitting reports on foreign wallets can lead to a fine of 20% to 40% of the credited amount for the year.

The document will enter into force on July 1, 2021.^[13]

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation took up the regulation of the payment aggregator market

On October 22, 2020, the Central Bank of Russia began regulating the payment aggregator market. The regulator received the authority to supervise operators of information exchange services (OSIO - players who provide technical interaction between banks and the final recipient of the payment).

The Central Bank sent letters to the CIO signed by the director of the department of the National Payment System Alla Bakina, from which it follows that the regulator wants to receive data on the basis of which the CIO works (license or similar), whether there are foreign beneficiaries and who they are, what kind of turnover of the UIO, whether there is an opportunity to immediately stop operations at a trade and service enterprise (TSP) and how many days it takes to suspend work with TSP, how many times someone was disconnected during the year and for what circumstances, as well as data on the number of subagents - money transfer operators.

The Bank of Russia has taken up the regulation of the payment aggregator market

An independent expert in the payment market Dmitry Vishnyakov, in a conversation with Kommersant, said that such interest may well indicate the regulator's plans to present additional requirements for information exchange operators in terms of reporting, ownership structure and in order to minimize dependence on foreign requirements (licenses), software.

In my opinion, CIO control is a logical and significant step forward in market control. Six months ago, literally few people heard about OUIO at all, now, as we assumed, this market is becoming under control and the reception of payments for gray industries is falling apart before our eyes, - said the founder of ChronoPayPavel Vrublevsky.

Earlier Russia Vladimir Putin , the president signed a law aimed at ensuring the continuity of card payments in the Russian Federation, giving the Bank of Russia right to limit the amount of acquiring fees and fine for stopping processing. From April 1, 2020, they will be obliged to send notifications to the Bank of Russia about participation in the IPA or termination of such participation, and from July 1, 2020 - information about the IPA and CIO for inclusion in the registers.^[14]

The ban on cash replenishment of non-personalized electronic wallets does not affect transport and school cards - Central Bank

On August 4, 2020, it became known that the amendments to the law on the national payment system, which entered into force on August 3, 2020, restricting cash replenishment of non-personalized electronic wallets, do not apply to transport cards issued by transport organizations or replenished through them, the Bank of Russia said. Also, restrictions do not apply to school cards, since such cards are not anonymous.

The regulator interacts with all major transport card operators to keep the cash replenishment service available. If the operator's internal system is configured in such a way that card replenishment does not occur through a transport organization and falls under the amendments to the law on the national payment system, operators have until October 1, 2020 to adjust their business model^[15].

Ban on anonymous replenishment of electronic wallets in the Russian Federation

At the end of July 2020, the exact dates for the entry into force of amendments to the federal law "On the National Payment System," which prohibit anonymous replenishment of electronic wallets, became known. The innovation will take effect on August 3.

From this day, without the procedure for preliminary identity identification to electronic wallets like Yandex.Money, Qiwi, WebMoney, PayPal and VK Pay, it will be possible to credit funds only using a bank account. Previously, users could replenish wallets in cash through terminals and offices of mobile operators

This ban is introduced in order to combat the laundering of illegal income and the financing of terrorism. It will affect about 10 million people who use anonymous electronic wallets by the end of July 2020. Such wallets are replenished with cash mainly by clients of small banks with a poor online interface, as well as those who do not have a bank account, says Viktor Dostov, chairman of the Association of Electronic Money and Money Transfer Market Participants. According to him, most often such wallets are used to pay for purchases in online stores.

Introduction of a ban on anonymous replenishment of electronic wallets in the Russian Federation

The new law will negatively affect the income of electronic money operators, who invest a lot of funds in stimulating non-cash payments, say Yandex.Money. The share of anonymous payments in this service is about 10%. In the Qiwi ecosystem, most users are identified, the company said.

For the vast majority of banks, this ban does not matter, since their payment services imply the personification of the client, explains Freedom Finance analyst Yevgeny Mironyuk.

For large services (Yandex. Money, "WebMoney), which previously provided the opportunity not to personalize electronic wallets, the law does not pose a threat, - said [16]]

The Bank of Russia did not support the postponement of the ban on replenishing anonymous wallets with cash

On June 5, 2020, it became known that due to the situation with the pandemic coronavirus banks , they asked to CENTRAL BANK postpone the introduction of a ban on cash replenishment of anonymous wallets, including many transport cards. It is due to take effect in early August. The regulator did not support the initiative.

The Association of Banks "Russia" (ADB) appealed to the Chairman of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina with a request to postpone for six months the entry into force of amendments to the law "On the National Payment System" (161-FZ), which prohibit replenishing non-personalized electronic wallets with cash, including transport cards and cards for schoolchildren. A letter with a corresponding request was sent to the Bank of Russia on June 3.

Banks point to the difficulties and risks of implementing this ban due to the coronavirus pandemic, which may arise from both credit institutions and users of such means of payment, especially social cards. But the Bank of Russia does not support the postponement, a representative of the Central Bank told RBC. "These changes are aimed at improving control over anonymous transfers of electronic funds. The law was adopted in August 2019, widely discussed with participants in the payment market, the time for the implementation of these changes, taking into account the entry into force, is one year, which seems sufficient, including in the context of the spread of coronavirus infection, "he explained.^[17]

Banks began to transfer data on electronic wallets of Russians to the Federal Tax Service

On April 1, 2020, the Tax Code of Russia entered into force requirements that oblige banks to report to the Federal Tax Service (FTS) data on the opening and closing of electronic wallets by Russians, such as Yandex.Money, Qiwi Wallet, WebMoney and PayPal. Previously, this only concerned bank accounts.

The new rules will apply to personified electronic wallets with both full and simplified identification. With simplified identification, it is enough for the client to provide passport data, SNILS or TIN. However, the possibilities of such wallets are usually limited. With full identification, you need to provide an extended package of documents. The Federal Tax Service will receive information about electronic wallets from banks in automatic mode.

The Tax Code of Russia entered into force requirements that oblige banks to report to the Federal Tax Service (FTS) data on the opening and closure of electronic wallets by Russians, such as Yandex.Money, Qiwi Wallet, WebMoney and PayPal

It is assumed that due to the innovation, the Federal Tax Service will monitor Russians who do not pay taxes on income - for example, they conduct business without registration by an individual entrepreneur. The Internal Revenue Service also wants to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing through e-wallets.

At the same time, the tax service will be able to receive information about transactions on electronic wallets (for example, an account statement to which the electronic wallet is tied) only upon request, when checking the wallet holder or his counterparty. The agency does not have direct access to this information.

According to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, at the end of 2019, 534.6 million electronic wallets were opened in Russia, of which 17.1 million were personified. Over the year, the Russians carried out 2.8 billion operations on them for a total of 1.9 trillion rubles. More than half of the volume of transactions fell on personalized wallets - 1.1 trillion rubles, since operations on anonymous wallets are limited by the limit and functionality.^[18]

2019

Joint statement of AED, WebMoney, Yandex.Money and Qiwi

According to EY^[19]2019 Russia ranked third in the world^[20] terms of fintech service penetration, overtaking countries such as Sweden,,. Great Britain Singapore These results correspond to the ambitious goals of the Bank - Russia to increase the share of non-cash payments to 65%. But some measures taken this year may slow down the growth of the share of non-cash and worsen the current state of affairs.

Every fourth consumer of the fintech service chooses the service based on the ease of entry. In this regard, the simplest financial service is an electronic wallet - you can open it in a minute. By specifying the email address and phone number, the client will receive a non-personalized tool with limited functions: according to the law, it cannot be used to transfer to other people, withdraw money and payments to foreign organizations. But you can - to pay for the services of Russian companies, for example, housing and communal services, mobile operators, online stores. The simplicity of registering a wallet made it an important social tool that until recently solved the problem with the availability of financial services and increased the share of non-cash payments in the commercial and social spheres.

Electronic wallets also played a prominent role in the development of the banking market - many modern solutions were first tested in the electronic money market: from fast online transfers to payment mobile applications. These services are still in demand: more than 100 million people in Russia have electronic wallets and more than half of Runet users are regularly calculated by them. The growth of the share of e-wallets is a global trend: according to forecasts of Worldpay^[21], by 2022 their share will grow by 10-20 percentage points, reaching 47% in the total volume of online payments.

Unfortunately, recently the possibilities of unidentified wallets have been cut: the current version of Federal Law No. 161-FZ prohibits cash withdrawals even within 5,000 rubles permissible earlier, and also gradually introduces restrictions on the usual ways to replenish non-personalized wallets, in particular cash. Electronic money operators and the expert community have repeatedly expressed bewilderment about the speed of adoption and severity of these measures: non-personalized wallets have previously been unsuitable for p2p transfers and cash out, but now they may be completely useless, because there will soon be no convenient opportunities to replenish them.

The consequences of this will affect not only people, but also business. Residents of remote regions, from which banks leave, will lose the most affordable financial service. The share of cash payments will grow, which in turn will be a temptation for unscrupulous entrepreneurs. At the same time, any online payments, even through non-personalized wallets, are much less attractive for illegal actions than transactions with cash or cryptocurrency: electronic payments contain more information about the sender and recipient and are easier to trace than cash or cryptocurrency transactions.

To reduce these negative consequences, it is possible to expand the ability to identify wallets by significantly simplifying identification procedures without compromising their quality. As simplification measures, the following is proposed:

• Identify wallets according to data from organizations whose activities are covered by Federal Law No. 115-FZ, without concluding an agreement with them. For example, by cell phone number (followed by verification of the owner through a cellular operator who is obliged to check the subscriber's data by issuing a SIM card).
• Legalize the simplified identification of Russians by passport and driver's license, which many are more often at hand than the second document required now - TIN, SNILS or compulsory medical insurance.
• Allow owners of electronic wallets to pass identification through the Unified Biometric System. Now only bank customers have such an opportunity to open an account or receive a loan.
• Allow non-residents to undergo simplified identification so that they can pay cashless and transparent.

According to experts from the Association of Electronic Money and Money Transfer Market Participants and its members, these measures will reduce the barrier to identification - therefore, they will make financial services more accessible to the population and stimulate further growth of transparent non-cash cash turnover.

Bill approved to ban anonymous replenishment of e-wallets

On July 30, 2019, it became known that the Federation Council approved the draft Federal Law "On Amendments to the Federal Law" On the National Payment System, "providing for amendments to this regulatory act introducing a ban on anonymous replenishment of electronic wallets. According to the expert community, these changes will negatively affect the market.

The bill was developed by Member of the Federation Council Nikolai Zhuravlev and a group of deputies of the State Duma, including the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market Anatoly Aksakov.

The bill establishes requirements for accepting electronic means of payment in Russia issued by foreign payment service providers (AliPay, WeChat, etc.). Among the requirements established by the bill for electronic wallets is a ban on replenishing non-personalized electronic wallets without opening a bank account. In addition, the bill clarifies such a concept as a "foreign payment system" and establishes requirements for the functioning of these systems in Russia.

As indicated in the Association of Electronic Money and Money Transfer Market Participants (AED), the amendments prohibiting the replenishment of non-personalized electronic wallets without opening a bank account did not even go through the basic stages of public discussion, and this fact worries market participants.

The restrictive provisions were introduced as part of the second reading into a non-core bill on the regulation of foreign payment systems and adopted within a few days. There was no way for the industry not only to analyse the changes, but to respond properly to them. The arguments that would justify such restrictions and the urgency of the introduction were not presented either, the AED drew attention.

At the same time, the Association noted that the ban proposed by the bill will significantly limit the choice of consumers and reduce incentives for the use of non-cash instruments.

{{quote "The usual ways to replenish wallets, the owners of which have not passed identification or simplified identification, through the terminal or in the office of the mobile operator will become impossible," the Association said, noting that more than 2 billion transactions are made annually in electronic money systems worth more than 1.7 trillion rubles. }}

This is still a popular payment service, the user base of electronic wallets in Russia, as well as around the world, continues to grow. More than 10 million consumers will feel negative effects from the adopted amendments. The changes will also negatively affect the strategic goals of the Bank of Russia to increase competition, the availability of financial services, non-cash turnover, the AED said.

At the same time, the Association noted that the functionality of non-personalized electronic wallets in recent years has already been significantly limited.

They cannot be used for payments abroad, transfers to other individuals. You cannot withdraw money in cash from an unidentified wallet. All key risks have already been minimized and restrictions on replenishment of these instruments will not have any positive impact. The introduction of similar bans in Belarus in 2015 showed a negative impact on financial accessibility and innovation potential, did not lead to the solution of any practical problems, and by July 2019, the National Bank of Belarus plans to again allow the use of unidentified electronic wallets by the end of the year, the AED informed.

The Association also drew attention to the fact that the National Risk Assessment of Terrorist Financing provides that Russia, in order to minimize the risks of attracting funds on the Internet, will provide for the possibility of blocking payment instruments and prohibit the issuance of cash from non-personalized electronic means of payment.

Both of these tasks have already been completed, which significantly reduced the corresponding risks. The ban on replenishment of non-personalized electronic means of payment without opening a bank account is not mentioned in the national risk assessment, the AED noted.

Summarizing, the Association stated:

We are convinced that the adopted innovations will negatively affect the goals of increasing the availability of financial services, reduce competition in the market. In recent years, the regulator and the industry have formed fine-tuned mechanisms for discussing changes in regulation, including detailed and comprehensive discussion of the problems and ways of developing the identification of payment instruments. Unfortunately, the reasons for such a significant change in legislation bypassing these mechanisms and, especially, the need for such an urgent decision remained incomprehensible to the participants in this process[22].

Control over foreign payment systems operators

On March 12, 2019, it became known that the State Duma in the first reading adopted a package of bills, including establishing requirements for accepting electronic means of payment on the territory of the Russian Federation and the functioning of foreign payment systems.

The first bill proposes to clarify the concept of "foreign payment system," as well as to define the concepts of "foreign provider of payment services" and "operator of information exchange services." The document also proposes to establish requirements for accepting electronic means of payment on the territory of the Russian Federation and prohibit foreign payment service providers from providing services for transferring funds to resident customers and for providing them with electronic means of payment.

Also, the draft law is supposed to establish requirements for the functioning of foreign payment systems on the territory of the Russian Federation, including provision for the presence on the territory of Russia of a representative of a foreign payment system operator, and determine that the rules of the foreign payment system should contain requirements for the protection of information, risk management system, etc., obliging the operator of a foreign payment system to comply with the rules of a foreign payment system, to ensure the public availability of these rules.

It is proposed to establish that the Bank of Russia has the right to request and receive from the representative of the operator of a foreign payment system documents and other necessary information, including containing personal data, to send demands to eliminate violations of the law.

As noted in the explanatory note to the second bill of the package, "an increasing number of banks are providing their customers with the opportunity to make non-cash payments using payment applications such as ApplePay, SamsungPay, MirPay."

In order to ensure the protection of customers' rights, reduce the operational risks of banks, the bill defines the requirements for the procedure for interaction between the bank and the supplier organization of the payment application.

The draft law also provides for the disclosure to the Bank of Russia of information about suppliers of payment applications, which will help increase the efficiency of assessing the risk management systems and procedures implemented by banks.

In addition, the authors of the bill note, acquiring business models have become widespread in the payment services market, within the framework of which payment aggregators, based on agreements with banks, provide processing of information on transactions with payment cards, electronic wallets in favor of trade and service enterprises and participate in settlements for such operations. In order to develop the acquiring infrastructure and increase its availability for small and medium-sized businesses, it is proposed to regulate the activities of payment aggregators as bank payment agents. The bill establishes the obligations of the payment aggregator to identify trade and service enterprises, participate in the settlement of controversial operations, ensure the uninterrupted operation of software and hardware, as well as comply with the requirements for information protection when transferring funds.

In order to expand the availability of payment services on electronic trading platforms for small and medium-sized businesses, the bill provides for the possibility of performing transactions for the transfer of electronic funds using corporate electronic wallets between legal entities and individual entrepreneurs. The Bank of Russia will receive information about such operations^[23].

The State Duma supported the restriction of cash withdrawals from anonymous electronic funds

The State Duma adopted in March 2019 in the second reading a bill on improving control over the use by citizens of non-personalized (anonymous) electronic means of payment and on restricting the withdrawal of cash from such means of payment. The bill was initiated by the government of the Russian Federation.

In the edition of the first reading, a ban was established on the withdrawal of cash using anonymous electronic means of payment.

By the second reading, this norm was corrected - if the client passed the simplified identification procedure, he may withdraw cash by such means in the case of using a prepaid card, provided that, that the total amount of cash issued does not exceed 5 thousand rubles during one calendar day and 40 thousand rubles during one calendar month, writes TASS Information Agency of Russia.

It is envisaged that the balances of the citizen's funds on this electronic means of payment by his order can be transferred to the bank account of a legal entity, an individual entrepreneur, to the bank account of this individual, as well as to fulfill his obligations to the credit institution.

Restrictions related to the establishment of limits for electronic funds balances entail a ban on electronic funds operators to make transfers if the established limits are exceeded.

2018: Foreign payment systems are required to establish a representative in Russia

On December 7, 2018, information appeared that a bill was submitted to the State Duma, according to which foreign payment systems and electronic wallets working with Russian users should create an official representative in Russia and submit an application for entry into a special register of the Central Bank. If they do not do this, then 270 days after the adoption of the law they will not be able to transfer money to Russia.

The bill was prepared by a group of parliamentarians headed by Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market. From a legal point of view, the document is an amendment to the law on the national payment system.

The bill defines the concept of a foreign payment system. We are talking about the totality of organizations that transfer funds across the border according to foreign laws and their own rules. Part of such a system may be a foreign bank, which is the payer and recipient of funds during the transfer of funds.

The authors of the bill explain that other participants are constantly entering the payment services market, and this area itself is actively developing, in connection with which it needs additional regulation.

According to the bill, any foreign electronic wallet or payment system, if they want to work with Russian users, must be entered into a special register of the Central Bank. Only those payment systems that fulfill certain requirements, including risk management and data protection, will be included in the register.

To be included in this register, a foreign system must submit an application. This application should be submitted through the official representative of the payment system in Russia. The bill states that foreign payment operators must necessarily acquire such a representative in Russia.

The authorities legally defined the concept of a foreign payment system The bill establishes requirements for cooperation between the owner of a foreign electronic wallet or payment system and the Russian bank through which payment passes. Russian banks are required to work only with those foreign operators that are included in the register of the Central Bank. Transferring funds through systems that are not in the registry will become impossible 270 days after the adoption of the law.

The authors of the bill believe that these measures will ensure timely settlements of foreign payment systems with Russian banks and increase the level of transaction security.

As for non-cash payments through special applications such as Apple Pay, in this case, the bill also provides for the provision of information to the Central Bank about the suppliers of such payment applications. In addition, suppliers are prohibited from transferring money to resident customers and providing them with electronic means of payment.

The bill also introduces additional rules for acquiring, that is, accepting payment cards for payment of goods and services. Now payment aggregators must conclude an agreement with the bank. The work of payment aggregators as bank payment agents will be regulated in order to increase the availability of acquiring for small and medium-sized businesses, the authors of the bill note.

Payment aggregators will have to identify enterprises that accept payment with cards for goods and services. Also, their duties will include the settlement of controversial operations, the protection of transaction data and ensuring the reliability of equipment, on which the continuity of transfers depends^[24].

2017: Anonymous electronic payments will be limited in Russia

At the end of 2017, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation reported on the execution of the government's order to assess the feasibility of prohibiting the crediting of funds to non-personalized electronic means of payment (NSP) without a bank account. This issue was discussed jointly with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Rosfinmonitoring, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Economy, and officials failed to come to an agreement, Kommersant reports.

The confrontation arose between the Central Bank and Rosfinmonitoring. The first is confident in the need to ban cash from electronic wallets and prepaid cards, and the second insists on banning anonymity and mandatory identification (at least simplified) of users. According to State Secretary of Rosfinmonitoring Pavel Livadny, anonymous wallets are used "to finance terrorist, extremist and illegal activities."

Specialists of the Central Bank do not agree with the opinion of colleagues from Rosfinmonitoring and consider the introduction of a ban on anonymity an unnecessary measure. In their opinion, if mandatory identification is introduced, users will simply switch to cash settlements, which will cause social tension.

Be that as it may, however, representatives of the industry consider both the proposals of Rosfinmonitoring and the Central Bank too tough. Even the initial initiative, which implied the crediting of funds to the NSP only through bank accounts, can seriously hit the market. The measures proposed by both regulators can completely destroy the market, experts say.

A meeting of representatives of Rosfinmonitoring and the Central Bank will soon take place, during which a single position will be developed. Then the implementation of the initiative will begin.

2016: National Bank of Ukraine banned the use of Russian payment systems

4 electronic payment systems were banned: WebMoney, Yandex.Money, QIWI Wallet and Wallet one. The reason for this decision was the lack of coordination with the NBU of the provision of services. Read more: Ukraine's sanctions on Russia.

2012

The Central Bank is a market regulator. Discussions about a new law

Since July 2012, the Bank of Russia has been officially entrusted with the obligation to supervise payment systems, at the same time their registration will begin. First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia Vladislav Kontorovich announced this at an interbank conference on bank information security held in Bashkortostan in March 2012. According to his estimates, by the end of 2012, according to the new rules, about 50-70 payment systems can be registered in Russia.

• The main discussions at the conference flared up around two problems:
• the need to finalize the Federal Law "On the National Payment System" to ensure the safe functioning of this system, as well as
• improving the quality of remote banking services (RBS).

"The shortcomings of the legislation create opportunities for the formation of other elements of the payment system, which, without violating the law, carry risks due to the fact that they do not identify customers and do not provide proper control over payments," said Garegin Tosunyan, president of the Association of Russian Banks.

No less questions are related to the improvement of RBS. According to the Association of Russian Banks, Russia ranks third in the world in terms of the dynamics and spread of cybercrime. To combat this phenomenon, experts proposed to revise the standards of security requirements for banking systems, taking into account the increase in their security.

Despite the issues outlined by bankers, it should be noted that the law has expanded the use of electronic money and payment systems in general, which should spur investors. "Previously, electronic money could not be recognized. Now they are legalized, which means that investors can safely operate with them, "said V. Kontorovich.

How foreign companies choose a payment provider to work in the Russian e-commerce market

In April 2012, the marketing department of ASSIST published the results of a study aimed at establishing those criteria that are decisive when choosing an electronic payment provider by foreign companies on the Russian market. ASSIST is a payment provider for more than 60% of the largest foreign brands doing business in Russia:

• Google,
• Sony,
• HTC,
• Carlson Vagonlit Travel,
• Mango and many others.

To abstract from the prevailing opinion of foreign players who have long been working in the Russian e-commerce market, and, in most cases, who chose ASSIST, the study was conducted on foreign companies only planning to enter the Russian market and at that time chose a technology contractor for online payments. Representatives of 23 foreign brands were interviewed.

The study was conducted by telephone and in-person interview. The summarized results can be reduced to the following main criteria, on the basis of which the payment provider is selected:

• 75% reputation: this criterion includes the term of work on the market, the presence of large Russian and foreign customers, and reviews of the company.

• 60% availability of its own anti-family system capable of effectively working with both Russian and foreign cards: this is a very important factor, because the anti-family system should not reduce sales due to the use of "hard" filters and limits, and at the same time should comply with world standards for payment security.

• 60% readiness to realize any wishes of customers and the availability of resources for this: for large foreign brands, the uniqueness of technical solutions is always important, due to which they are disconnected from competitors and the attraction of loyal Russian users. Meeting the high level of requirements for the development team is often one of the decisive factors.

• 50% choice of the acquiring bank from the most reliable Russian banks: it should be noted that in addition to the reliability of the bank, the requirement of foreign companies is often that the provider has several acquiring partners.

• 40% own electronic computing power: this criterion, subject to all previous ones, was perceived by many companies as implied by default, and received the last place in the ranking.

2011: 161-FZ Law "On the National Payment System"

On September 29, 2011, the key for the industry was Federal Law No. 161-FZ "On the National Payment System" of June 27, 2011, which enshrined the definition of electronic funds (EMF), fixed key requirements for the transfer of EMFs, as well as operators of electronic money. If earlier activities were regulated by many laws and individual articles in various laws, then the law "On the National Payment System" became a single regulatory document for the entire industry of electronic payments.

2010

• Since 2010, banks have been actively entering the market, which was initially divided between three payment systems - Chronopay, Assist and Cyberplat -: Raiffeisen Bank, Alfa Bank, Transcreditbank. BM-Bank Russia and Sberbank also announced plans to issue their solutions for Internet payments.

• In July 2010, ChronoPay (Chronopay) was a victim of DDoS twice. At first, the service was unavailable from July 5 to 7, the second attack, which was repulsed, fell on the night of July 19 to 20. Chronopay CEO Pavel Vrublevsky does not exclude that attacks can be carried out by those who want to redistribute the market for accepting payments on the Internet. First of all, we are talking about banks.

• In July 2010, a landmark incident for the market was a DDoS attack allegedly initiated by Pavel Vrublevsky (head of ChronoPay (Chronopei)) on the Assist payment system . For more information about the incident, see the articles: Aeroflot, Pavel Vrublevsky and ChronoPay (Chronopei).

• An important event in 2010 for market participants was the introduction of the bill "On the National Payment System" to the State Duma. The section of the document on the regulation of the electronic money market was prepared with the participation of members of the Electronic Money Association. As of March 2011, the bill is being prepared for a second reading.

1998: First CyberPlat Transaction

In March 1998, the first transaction in the CyberPlat system was carried out, and in August of the same year the first payment was made via the Internet in favor of the Beeline operator.

The high popularity of electronic payments has led to uncontrolled, even chaotic, growth of players in this market. Already in the second half of the 90s, there were several hundred electronic payment systems in the world, many of which did not comply with the (moreover, fuzzy) rules of the game in this market. A large number of financial frauds, unsuccessful projects and much more led to some stagnation of the electronic payment market and the disappearance of many players from it.

Among the largest electronic payment systems at this time were PayPal, Neteller, StormPay, PayAce and several others. ChronoPay (Chronopei), Cyberplat, WebMoney, Yandex.Money and others are noticeable in Russia.

1997: CyberPlat - the first Russian electronic payment system

Creation of the first Russian electronic payment system CyberPlat.

1996: Development of EMV and SET standards

Development of regulations and standards of work in the electronic payments market, as well as information security. This is how the unified requirements for the technology of manufacturing microprocessor cards (EMV) and a special protocol for performing electronic transactions, which was called SET, were seen. It is worth noting, however, that the latter, despite all its prospects, for a number of reasons has not been widely used, but is nevertheless used in a number of solutions.

1995: The world's first electronic wallet

• Creation of the first monovalute microprocessor card for small purchases (Belgian company Proton).

• Mondex payment system has developed the world's first electronic wallet.

1994

The first purchase on the Internet with electronic money

In the United States, the first purchase was made via the Internet using eCash technology (the operator was the DigiCash company organized by Chaum, which subsequently went bankrupt for a number of reasons).

Launch of the Golden Crown system in Russia

The appearance of the first Russian payment system "Golden Crown."

1993: Invention of Electronic Money

Creation by David Chaum, head of cryptography at CWI, of electronic money. It was the eCash system, the principle of operation of which is laid down in most electronic payment systems existing today. The idea of ​ ​ eCash was that the cash itself was stored, in fact, on the hard drive of a personal computer, and to manage it and perform operations, special software and an Internet connection were needed.

Notes