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
Earlier this month Rostec, a state corporation that comprises more than 700 enterprises in the fields of defense and technology, announced they have developed a blockchain platform to provide a “real alternative to SWIFT in international settlements.” Russian banks were excluded from the SWIFT system last February as part of the sanctions imposed by Western countries in response …
Russia’s Rostec develops blockchain system as “real alternative” to SWIFT 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
As Western powers began cutting off its access to the SWIFT interbank payment system, Russia could turn to cryptocurrency to bypass sanctions. This Monday Sergey Glazyev, a former Russian minister and advisor to President Putin, made this suggestion in an interview to Russian TV channel RBC. Cryptocurrencies can become an alternative for settlements with Western countries, allowing Russia to continue …
Russia weighs pros and cons of using crypto to evade Western sanctions Read More
The US said Friday it will “probably not” try to kick Russia out of the SWIFT financial messaging system should Moscow invade Ukraine. Washington has threatened to levy “severe” sanctions on Moscow in the event it attacks Ukraine, promising a package of measures that could “devastate” the Russian economy. “All options remain on the table. …
Tinkoff’s mortgage loan offering is the first of its kind in Russia: the process will take place entirely online, from paperwork to credit issuance. Since Tinkoff has always been branchless, customers will not need to visit a brick-and-mortar location at any stage of the transaction, including when applying for electronic signatures. First, Tinkoff customers will be …
Tinkoff introduces Russia’s first digital mortgage loans Read More
Some are calling it the “nuclear option.” As Western governments threaten Russia with a package of unprecedented sanctions aimed at deterring President Vladimir Putin from ordering an invasion of Ukraine, there’s one measure in particular that appears to strike fear at the heart of the Kremlin: cutting the country off from the global banking system. US lawmakers have suggested …
Finance vs. tanks: Why SWIFT might be the weapon Russia fears most Read More
While advocating a ban on crypto exchange, investment and mining in the country, Russia’s central bank has plans to launch its own digital currency. Having completed the prototype of the digital ruble platform in December, the monetary authority is now beginning to experiment with transactions. A dozen banks have been invited to join the first stage of …
Russian banks begin testing digital ruble payments Read More
As Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) has become a popular way for consumers around the globe to settle their purchases, Russia’s Central Bank is seeking to regulate this activity. In this exchange with East-West Digital News,, industry pioneer Irene Shvakman – who co-founded Revo Technologies, Russia’s first BNPL service, even before today’s Western leaders appeared …
Tinkoff, the Russian digital banking giant, has taken control of Just Look, the company behind the Jump.Finance payment automation service. Tinkoff purchased a 51% stake under undisclosed terms. Founded in 2017 by Anton Kirillov (CEO) and Mikhail Kirchenko (CTO), Jump.Finance has asserted itself as a major provider of payment automation software for taxi fleets, car dealers, delivery companies, scrap collector …
Russian digital banking giant Tinkoff acquires payment automation service Jump.Finance Read More
The Moscow Metro on Friday rolled out what authorities have touted as the world’s first fare payment system based on facial recognition technology. The cashless, cardless and phone-less system, called ‘Face Pay,’ has been fitted at special turnstiles across the Russian capital’s more than 240 metro stations. “To enter the metro, passengers won’t need a …
Moscow metro introduces “world’s first” pay-by-face system Read More
