Russia’s proposed bitcoin ban will hinder blockchain technology’s development in the Russian Federation, according to German Gref, chairman of the board at Sberbank, Russia’s national savings bank, and former economic development minister, speaking at the Skolkovo business school Saturday, according to Lenta.ru, a Moscow-based news site. Gref said blockchain is a new web technology comparable …
Life.Sreda, a Singapore-based venture fund with Russian origins, is launching a new venture fund dedicated to investing in the blockchain ecosystem. Christened ‘Banking on Blockchain Fund,’ or ‘BB Fund,’ the new fund will provide start-up capital for early stage blockchain companies that have use cases relevant to banks. Starting with an initial capital infusion of $5 …
Life.Sreda launches international fund to help banks invest in blockchain startups Read More
Target Global, an international venture fund with Russian backers, has led a $24 million funding round for Zooz, an Israeli payment service provider. The round, which was announced last week, also involved Fang Fund, iAngels, Kreos Capital and existing investors Blumberg Capital, Lool Ventures, Rhodium, Claltech (Access Industries’ Israeli tech vehicle), XSeed Capital, CampOne Ventures and angel Eilon Tirosh. The details of the transaction have not …
Target Global leads $24 million round for Israeli-based payment service provider Read More
Russian billionnaire Alisher Usmanov has invested in a Russian PSP named ‘InPlat‘ via structures affiliated to his holding company USM, acquiring a 35% stake previously owned by investment fund Supremum Capital. The transaction, which took place in December 2015, was revealed last week by Russian tech blog Firrma.ru, which referred to an unnamed source from Supremum …
Alisher Usmanov invests in InPlat to create new payment ecosystem in Russia Read More
Touch Bank, a digital-only bank launched last year in Russia, already claims 70,000 clients across the country, with the customer base growing at an average rate of 10,000 new customers a month. While initial launch products for the Russian market were credit card, cash loan, deposit account, and current account, as well as a cash-back loyalty program, the bank has gradually started …
Touch Bank CEO Andrei Kozliar on how to create a digital-only bank in Russia Read More
Earlier this month Otkrytie, a major Russian bank, announced that it was in the process of fully acquiring mobile banking startup Rocketbank. The move follows a strategic partnership inked in December 2015. “This partnership has already allowed Rocketbank to attract customers more efficiently, thanks to our strong brand, and accelerate the development of its product. On the …
Earlier this week a delegation from Hong Kong visited Skolkovo, the international tech hub under completion on the outskirts of Moscow, to exchange experience amid an ongoing cooperation program. As reported by the Skolkovo foundation, the delegation was led by Professor KC Chan, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of Hong Kong, who outlined how the …
Hong Kong delegation visits Russia’s Skolkovo to cross-pollinate fintech startups Read More
Yandex Payment Solution, the payment aggregator service of Yandex.Money, is introducing a new checkout method in Russia, allowing merchants to identify their customers’ preferred payment methods and offer “a faster, smarter payment process.” Every user is offered a set of three payment methods, which are assumed to be the most convenient to him or her. These payment methods may include bank cards as …
Russian holders of e-currency accounts may now make use of their leftover foreign coins and bills when traveling abroad. Yandex.Money, a leading Russian e-currency with more than 25 million user accounts, has partnered with international service provider TravelersBox to provide its users with this service, following the examples of PayPal and Qiwi. Using TravelersBox’s kiosks in the airports of Milan …
Megafon, a leading Russian mobile operator, has shut down its mobile payment platform ‘Megafon Money.’ This service will be replaced by Visa Qiwi Wallet — the electronic wallet offered by payment operator Qiwi in partnership with Visa — “with additional specific Megaton features,” Russian business daily Vedomosti reported yesterday. The service has been judged redundant …
Russia’s financial regulator, Bank of Russia, announced it has set up a working group whose main task is to analyze the technological innovations on the financial markets and the blockchain technology in particular. The deputy chair of the Bank of Russia, Olga Skorobogatova who headed the group, noted that the fast development and digitalization of the financial technologies …
Bank of Russia sets up working group on Blockchain technologies Read More
Yesterday British startup TediPay and Russia’s CardsMobile presented their first joint solution at the Mobile World Congress exhibition in Barcelona. Christened ‘Wildcard,’ this open platform allows banks and transport companies to offer their services via a range of wearable devices: smart and hybrid watches, bracelets, smart rings and more. The platform addresses four mass market applications — …
