Immigram, a UK-based tech immigration platform, has won first prize at Slush, Helsinki’s yearly top tech event. The Russian-founded startup will receive €1 million in investment coming from top global investors including Accel, General Catalyst, Lightspeed, NEA and Northzone. Immigram had raised half a million just six months ago, earning trust from Joint Journey and Xploration …
The international acceptance of MIR, Russia’s answer to Visa and Mastercard, shrunk dramatically last week as major banks from Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam announced the suspension of such transactions. These announcements came soon after the US authorities warned banks outside the US that supporting MIR transactions could expose them to the risk …
China’s UnionPay paymentsystem has stopped accepting cards issued by Russian banks under Western sanctions over fears of penalties, the RBC news website reported Friday, citing financial industry sources. Demand for UnionPay cards in Russia surged following Visa and Mastercard’s exit in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. A number of major Russian banks subsequently announced plans …
China’s UnionPay cuts off Russian banks over sanctions Read More
The decision of Visa and MasterCard in early March — followed by Chinese UnionCard — to back away from Russia has affected dozens of millions of card holders from this country. While Russia managed to keep their cards active for domestic transactions at least until they expire, Visa and MasterCard cards can no longer use …
How Russia pushes MIR card adoption in new countries Read More
Update May 16, 2022 — The NashStore application store, initially scheduled for launch on May 9, was finally released on May 16 — but bugs were reported and the store was not fully functional yet. In a bid to make the use of mobile app independent from US platforms, three Russian digital majors — Sber, …
Russia develops domestic, sanction-resilient application stores Read More
China’s UnionPay system refused to cooperate with Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank and suspended talks with other banks for fear of secondary sanctions, the RBC news website reported Wednesday. Russian banks planned to issue cards using UnionPay after Visa and Mastercard suspended operations last month in compliance with sanctions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The Russian …
China’s payment card giant UnionPay backs away from Russia Read More
The number of applications for international visas in the UK and elsewhere, in order to leave Russia, has exploded following the latter’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s estimated that since February over 200,000 people have fled the country, with many observers calling it a “brain drain.” And while it’s possible to apply for normal visas abroad, …
As Russians head for the exits, Immigram platform launches to scale professional migration Read More
Earlier this month VkusVill, Russia’s number one health foods brand and a leading player in e-grocery, opened its first cashierless store in Moscow. To make a purchase, customers scan a QR code in their VkusVill mobile app when they enter the store, then select the items they need and exit through a special turnstile. Payment is …
While many internationally-oriented Russian startups move to Silicon Valley, or to such European alternatives as Berlin, London or Riga, Branquad made a different choice. This Russian digital commerce startup recently landed in Lille, a large, tech-friendly city in the North of France. Not only does its case provide yet another example of an International Russian …
From Moscow to Lille, France: This startup changes the way retailers fill product cards Read More
According to Aviasales.ru, Russian travellers booked 15% more tickets through its air ticket online booking platform for this May holiday season than in the same period of pre-covid year 2019. The company also notes that 95% of the tickets were sold for domestic routes vs. 75% before the pandemic. The most popular international destinations this year were Turkey, …
Russian travel segment is recovering fast from the pandemic Read More
Yesterday Sber, the state-controlled financial and digital giant, announced a binding agreement to fully acquire Muzlab, a leader in the Russian B2B audio streaming market. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed, but industry publication VC.RU heard it was between 500 million rubles ($6.5 million) and 1 billion rubles ($13 million at the current exchange rate). Muzlab has developed a …
X5 Retail Group, a leading Russian food retailer listed on the Moscow and London stock exchanges, has acquired a dark kitchen company called Mnogo Lososya (‘A Lot of Salmon’). The group’s head Igor Shekhterman revealed the transaction earlier this week in a media interview, without providing any financial details. “While we see great potential in this business, we didn’t have …
