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Russia Cards & Payments Market Report
- Published Date: November 2020
RUSSIA CARDS AND PAYMENTS REPORT
A comprehensive overview of the cards, payments and consumer banking market in Russia.
As Russians increase their usage of bank cards and mobile payments, cash is starting to decline in the face of a fast-evolving payments ecosystem.
In January 2019, the central bank introduced the Faster Payments System, which will include QR-based functionality from 2021.
Mir Pay, a mobile payment solution for the domestic scheme, was also launched in 2019, a year in which more than a fifth of Russia's Visa payments took place via mobile device.
What you will learn from this Russia payments market report
How Mir has transformed the market.
What is happening in e-commerce payments.
Why credit cards are most dynamic consumer finance sectors in Russia.
The drivers of credit card profitability.
Which regulatory developments have the greatest impact on consumers.
RUSSIA COUNTRY REPORT | KEY FACTS
- Russia's central bank is one of the most active globally in terms of digital innovation.
- Migration to digital payments has been partly driven by the creation of the National Card Payment System (NSPK).
- Domestic card transactions must be processed by the NSPK. Sanctions temporarily disrupted domestic card payments during the middle of the last decade, prompting the move.
- Launched in 2016, the domestic scheme Mir has enjoyed significant growth. Since 1 October 2020, social welfare payments have had to be transferred to Mir cards.
- The first regulations concerning digital assets are being considered by lawmakers: a central bank digital currency and the banning of non-approved cryptocurrencies are planned.
- Debit cards were responsible for 89% of total purchase volume by card during 2019.
- The number of ATM withdrawals fell in 2019, while the value of transactions increased slightly.
- Contactless transactions more than doubled in 2019, representing half of card purchase transactions.
- The effects of the pandemic have accelerated the migration of payments from paper-based instruments to electronic and digital forms.
- Sberbank is the largest merchant acquirer. Due to the size of its issuing portfolio, it can offer more competitive pricing.
- The Unified Biometric System (UBS) was introduced in June 2018. Some 200 banks participate, although consumer uptake has been low.
Russia Payments Research | Report Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Demographics and the economy
Payments environment
Russian cards market
Mobile payments
Profit pool
The networks
Key retail banks and issuers
Acquiring and processing
Online acquiring
Regulatory and other cards market information
Appendices: Data
Appendix I: Demographics and the economy
- Demographic and economic indicators
- Ownership of key consumer devices
- Internet usage by population
Appendix II: Payments environment
- Access points
- Account penetration
- Consumer payment trends
- B2C e-commerce payment methods
Appendix III: Cards market
- Total cards payment metrics
- Contactless cards metrics
- Credit card numbers
- Total credit cards metrics
- Credit cards profitability indicators
- Debit cards numbers
- Debit cards metrics
Appendix IV: Mobile payments
- Mobile proximity payment metrics
- Mobile P2P payments
Appendix V: Profit pool
- Russian profit pool
Appendix VI: The networks
- Networks' credit card market shares
- Networks' credit card numbers
- Networks' credit card billed volume
- Networks' number of credit card transactions
- Networks' average credit card transaction value
- Credit card interchange fees by network
- Networks' debit card market shares
- Networks' debit card numbers
- Networks' debit card billed volume
- Networks' number of debit card transactions
- Networks' average debit card transaction value
- Debit card interchange fees by network
Appendix VII: Key retail banks and issuers
- Key credit card issuers market shares by credit card numbers
- Key issuers market shares in credit card outstandings
- Key debit card issuers market shares by debit card numbers
Appendix VIII: Acquiring and processing
- Merchant acquirer credit card market share
- Credit card merchant service charges
- Merchant acquirer debit card market share
- Debit card merchant service charges
- Credit card issuer/issuing processor relationships
- Credit card acquirer/acquiring processor relationships
- Credit card issuing processor market shares by card numbers
- Credit card acquiring processor market shares by the number of POS transactions
Appendix IX: Online acquiring
- Online merchant acquirer market share
Russia Country Report | Selected Extracts
Demographics and Economy
Moscow and Saint Petersburg have historically been the main focus of consumer credit and payment activities. The vast regions beyond the two biggest cities provide a largely untapped source of potential new clients for consumer finance providers.
Payments Environment
The payment ecosystem is evolving fast with Russians using bank cards and mobile payments at an ever-increasing rate; use of cash is starting to decline, but still remains a very important method of payment for Russians.
Cards Market
There were about 2.7 million POS terminals installed in Russia at the end of 2019, an increase of 11% when compared with 2018.
Mobile Payments
According to Visa, over a fifth of its payments in Russia, were conducted via mobile device in 2019, whereas, in 2016, this method was virtually non-existent.
Profit Pool
Credit cards continue to be an important revenue driver for Russian banks. According to Verisk Financial Research's profit pool model, growth in credit card outstandings has picked up following an 8% decline.
Card Networks
Credit card numbers have increased in Russia by 16% since 2014 to reach almost 37 million cards in issue as of the end of 2019. Russian consumers are increasingly using debit cards for payments. Networks and issuers have been promoting the use of debit cards for cashless payments in Russia.
Key Retail Banks and Issuers
Several foreign banks have scaled back their operations in Russia since the financial crisis to fund higher capital requirements in other locations, while home-grown, state-controlled giants such as Sberbank and VTB are ramping up their operations.
Acquiring and Processing
Russia's acquiring market is concentrated, with almost 70% of credit card acquired billed volume in the hands of a single player, Sberbank, which is also among the largest merchant acquirers in Europe.
Online Acquiring
Russian B2C e-commerce amounted to over $40 billion during 2019, corresponding to annual growth of over 13% in purchase volume.
Regulatory and Markets Information
By law, payments within Russia must now also be processed there. Most international payment systems operators working in Russia are already compliant with the law, having taken the necessary steps to involve the domestic payment infrastructure.
Russia Card Payments | Entities Referenced
ABank
003.ru
Absolute Insurance
Accenture
Aeroflot
Alfa Bank
AliExpress
American Express
Android Pay
Apple Pay
ASSIST
Auto.ru
Avito
Bank Rossiya
Binbank
BP
Bravo
Bringly
British Airways
CBR
Central Bank of Russia
CFT Group
Citi Group
Citibank Russia
Citilink
Credit Bank of Moscow
Credit Europe Bank
Daricard
Ethereum
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Faster Payments System
FPS
Gazprom Neft
Gazprombank
Golden Crown
Google Pay
HCFB
Home Credit
Home Credit Finance Bank
Ingenico
JCB
JSC NVKbank
Krayinvestbank
Mail.ru
MAKS
Mastercard
Masterchain
MDM Bank
Mir
MKB
MTS
Multicarta
Mvideo
NAPAS
National Bureau of Credit Histories
National Card Payment System
National Commercial Bank of Russia
NSPK
Orient Express Bank
Ozon
PayOnline
PayPal
PayU
Post Bank
PSB
Qiwi
Qiwi Wallet
Raiffeisenbank
RBK Money
Renault-Taxi
Robokassa.
Rosevrobank
Rosselkhozbank
Rostelecom
RRDB
RSB
Russian Agricultural Bank
Russian Fintech Association
Russian Post
Russian Regional Development Bank
Russian Standard Bank
Samsung Pay
Sberbank
Sobinbank
Sovcombank
Svyaznoy Bank
TCS Bank
Tinkoff Bank
TransCreditCard
TV Rain
UBS
Unified Biometric System
Union Pay
VimpelCom
Visa
VTB
WebMoney
Wildberries.ru
Xiaomi
Yandex
Yandex.Checkout
Yandex.Eats
Yandex.Money
Ziraat Bank
Zolotaya Korona
MORE CARDS & PAYMENTS REPORTS
Reports include detailed market and competitor intelligence on payments cards, e-money, acquiring, retail banking, and consumer credit in Europe. Analysts use primary and secondary source data and conduct in-depth interviews with senior industry executives and finance experts.
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