Swedish fintech player Digital Alliance AB and Russia’s QIWI Group have launched a new solution based on advanced SoftPOS technology. Initially launched in Russia under the brand ‘tap2go,’ the service will be made available on other markets in the course of 2021. The new service enables end users to accept card payments directly on their mobile devices, …
Alfa-Bank is in the process of acquiring Netmonet, a startup that uses QR codes to automate tips in restaurants, cafés and beauty salons. In an agreement signed last month, the Russian lender is committed to acquire the company fully for an undisclosed amount. Forbes Russia has estimated Netmonet’s valuation at approximately $4 million — a sizeable amount …
Russian tip automation startup acquired by major bank 18 months after launch Read More
Russia’s digital banking leader Tinkoff announced today the launch of an online and offline payment service for legal entities. Dubbed ‘Tinkoff Checkout,’ the service will operate “as a one-stop shop [for] companies to take care of all of their online and offline financial needs in one place.” The service will allow businesses to accept online payments, provide …
On Feb. 12 Alipay owner Ant Group, LSE-listed Mail.ru Group, mobile operator MegaFon, sovereign fund RDIF and Alisher Usmanov’s holding USM signed binding agreements to create a payments joint venture (PJV) and a financial services joint venture (FSJV). The deals, which follow an October 2019 non-binding agreement, are still subject to “a number of conditions including third …
Yandex.Checkout, a leading Russian payment service provider, is going to run its international operations – essentially in cross-border B2C payment operations – under a new brand, ‘YooMoney.’ The company says the transition will be completed by mid-December, 2020. As for domestic operations, they are now run under brand of ‘YooKassa.’ These changes are coming as …
Now fully owned by Sber, Yandex.Checkout rebrands to ‘YooMoney’ Read More
According to BCG report Global Payments 2020: Fast Forward into the Future, Russia is among the five world leaders in terms of speed for the transition to non-cash payments during the Covid-19 pandemic. Analysts calculated the net change in consumer cash payments, based on the proportion of consumers who used cash more frequently during the …
Russia among top 5 countries for transition to cashless payments during pandemic Read More
Sberbank — the state-controlled giant which recently unveiled a suite of new technology products and dropped the word ‘bank’ from its corporate branding — is compiling a database of Russian citizens’ biometric information. Little is known about how the project is progressing, but online publication The Bell believes it could potentially concern some 100 million users of …
Commuters in Moscow will soon be able to take a ride on the metro with just a turn of their heads, as the Russian capital embraces next-generation facial payment technology. At least one turnstile at each metro station will be equipped with the contactless facial recognition technology as soon as next spring, Moscow authorities say. The system, which …
Moscow Metro to introduce facial payment technology Read More
One of the main figures in the collapse of German payment firm Wirecard, chief operating officer Jan Marsalek, is reportedly hiding somewhere near Moscow. Russian online publication The Bell looked at Wirecard’s connections with Russia, and why Marsalek visited the country over 60 times in a decade. The reason for Marsalek’s trips was a search for banks …
Kaspersky researchers have uncovered a new technique for stealing users’ payment information on online shopping websites, dubbed web skimming. By registering for Google Analytics accounts and injecting these accounts’ tracking code into the websites’ source code, attackers can collect users’ credit card details. Web skimming is a popular practice used by attackers to steal users’ credit …
Kaspersky researchers found a new fraudulent technique that steals online payment details Read More
Sberbank, the state-controlled finance and technology behemoth, Azbuka Vkusa, a leading grocery retail outlet network, and Visa have teamed up to launch “Russia’s first store fitted with computer vision solutions.” Located in the Moscow City business center, the ‘Take&Go’ store features an “intellectual surveillance system” which “constantly tracks the products on shelves.” When entering the store, customers …
Russia has urged consumers and businesses to use digital payments rather than cash in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus and told banks to limit ruble notes in circulation. Consumer safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor this month encouraged Russians to move to cashless payments, citing World Health Organization guidelines stating that a virus can …
Russians urged to reject cash to slow coronavirus spread Read More
