While authorities in Moscow are still fine-tuning their revamped crypto legislation, to be presented for public discussions in October, participants in last week’s Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok have been busy discussing regulatory matters related to cryptocurrency mining and the circulation of digital coins in the vast country. Several Russian regions have been mentioned multiple …
Sistema Asia Capital, one of the corporate venturing vehicles of the Russian conglomerate AFK Sistema, is one of the main investors in a $30 million funding round for Indian e-credit startup Kissht. Singapore’s Vertex Ventures SEA (Temasek Holdings) has co-led the round, which also involved existing investors, Indian funds VenturEast and Endiya Partners, and China’s Fosun RZ Capital. Founded …
Sistema’s venture arm invests in Indian credit startup Read More
SimpleFinance, a Russian online micro-lending platform targeting small and medium-sized businesses, has agreed a $15 million equity investment deal with the Japanese fund SBI FinTech Business Innovation Fund LPS. The fund’s total capital commitment to SimpleFinance now stands at nearly $50 million, taking into account a first round of funding just one year ago. Launched in 2015, SimpleFinance offers …
Russia’s SimpleFinance secures $15 million from Japanese fund SBI Read More
Last week the Russian Association of Cryptoindustry and Blockchain (RACIB) unveiled the details of its upcoming voluntary certification program for crypto traders. The program will be launched in October, RACIB Vice President Andrei Grachev told the Russian media. It is equally intended for traders and funds. The assessment is based on such criteria as reporting, workflow, customer …
Russian association to launch voluntary crypto trading certification program Read More
Visa and Credit Bank of Moscow have partnered to introduce payment-enabled rings in Russia to allow consumers to make purchases across all contactless-enabled payment terminals. The Visa payment-enabled rings are made of shockproof and waterproof ceramics and require consumers to enter a PIN code when the cost of a purchase exceeds USD 13. If the …
Credit Bank of Moscow, Visa release payment-enabled rings in Russia Read More
The emergence of bitcoin and other cryptocurrency market news received a relatively large echo in Russia over the past year or two even beyond the narrow circles of blockchain engineers or professional investors. ROMIR, a major Russian marketing and media research company, has studied the level of knowledge and the attitudes towards cryptocurrencies among the …
An oil-rich republic of the ex-Soviet Union, Kazakhstan now envisions its economic future as a gateway for foreign investment across Central Asia. Tech solutions and new apps are emerging there to facilitate the process, writes tech columnist Victoria Zavyalova. Until recently, Kazakhstan had little to show in terms of stock trading and fintech infrastructure. This …
From startup emigration to local development: Fintech emerges in Kazakhstan Read More
Earlier this month Yandex.Checkout, the B2B branch of Yandex.Money, announced an update of its mobile software development kit (SDK). This SDK – an open-source software licensed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – already allowed e-merchants with a mobile app to accept payments with bank cards and e-wallets. It now includes mobile payments via Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Sberbank Online Mobile Bank. The …
Yandex.Money launches advanced mobile payment services for e-merchants Read More
Tinkoff Bank, a pioneer in P2P money transfers using a mobile number, has made available this service to Sberbank customers – expanding its potential audience to millions of customers of Russia’s leading savings bank. This service, which Tinkoff describes as being one of its most popular payment methods, will be made available to all Sberbank customers …
Sberbank customers can now transfer money using just a mobile number Read More
Tezis.io, a Russian startup that helps its users invest in stocks from Russian and US companies, has just secured some $1 million from Target Global Fintech Opportunities Fund (TGFOF) with participation from business angel Nikita Mikhin. Launched in 2016, Tezis currently claims to serve 6,000 individuals and as well as two Russian brokerage companies, Aton and …
Russian fintech startup Tezis.io secures $1 million, prepares for international expansion Read More
The private banking branches of Sberbank, Russia’s national savings bank, and Alfa-Bank, a major retail bank, will offer cryptocurrency-based investment options to their clients, the business daily Kommersant reported last week. The new products will combine six of the most frequently traded cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin. The cryptocurrency composition of the …
Two major Russian banks to offer cryptocurrency products to their private banking clients Read More
As Russia prepares to regulate ICOs and cryptocurrencies, Russia’s central bank launched this past April a “regulatory platform” to experiment and implement new financial services and technologies that require legislative changes. This platform, which involves other state institutions and industry associations, will be used in the near future to test an ICO technology. The first transactions …
Sberbank and National Settlement Depository to test new ICO technology Read More
