Qiwi’s offline and online payment systems can no longer be used to replenish the accounts of a dozen Russian electronic currencies, as of March 15.
The affected e-currencies include Yandex.Dengi – one of the two leading Russian e-currencies; MoneyMail – the e-currency of Mail.ru, a leading web portal; and a range of minor e-currencies.
WebMoney, the other leading Russian currency, has been spared by Qiwi’s decision.
The elimination of Qiwi’s replenishment service, announced last week, was motivated by the company’s intent to promote its own electronic payment services. Another reason was the alleged difficulty of offering a transparent service involving third-party systems.
Qiwi was established in late 2007, following the merger of OSMP and E-port payment systems. It dominates the market of offline electronic payment terminals – popular machines through which Russians pay for virtually everything, from mobile phone bills to orders at e-commerce sites to utilities, taxes, and fines. Qiwi users can also make payments through an electronic wallet, Qiwi Koshelek.
By enabling its users to pay for online purchases, Qiwi began to compete with electronic currencies such as Yandex.Dengi.
Although users of the affected e-currencies still have a range of alternatives for replenishing their accounts, Qiwi’s move may impact their transactions in a significant way, at least in the short term.
