Yandex.Dengi, a leading Russian electronic currency operator, announced yesterday that users can now register their banking cards to make online purchases using Yandex.Dengi.
The arrangement is similar to the one that PayPal has offered its international users for years.
The service is without commission, but for security reasons Yandex is currently limiting purchases to 5,000 rubles per day and 30,000 rubles per month ($172 and $1,034, respectively). For legal reasons, the service is not available to non-residents or to holders of cards issued by banks not registered in Russia.
Qiwi, the leading operator of offline electronic terminals, offers a similar service to users who have registered online. Their ‘electronic wallet’ system can also be linked to bank cards, but the service takes a commission of 2.25% of the purchase amount, notes Webplanet.ru, an online site specializing in IT news. The Qiwi daily purchase limit is 150,000 rubles ($5,172).
Yandex.Dengi and WebMoney are the two top Russian electronic currency operators. According to studies, from 13% to 17% of online purchases in Russia are made using electronic currencies, and less than 20% are made with bank cards.
Yandex.Dengi is a service of Yandex, the leading Russian-language search engine.
