Since April, Sberbank has been canceling the so-called “bank roaming” - a commission for money transfers between customers from different regions. Now, transfers totaling up to 50 thousand per month will not be subject to any tariffs. However, if this threshold is exceeded, 1% of the amount will be charged, but not more than 1 thousand rubles. This commission will also operate when funds are transferred within the same region.
At the same time, it will be possible to choose an alternative option - a paid subscription, which will increase or completely remove the limit on free transfers.
“We plan to zero out the cost of transfers for citizens between territorial banks and make a limit on transfers in the amount of 50 thousand rubles ... Anything over the limit of 50 thousand rubles, the client will be able to buy a subscription so as not to pay for each transfer,” said Deputy Chairman of the Board Svetlana Kirsanova.
She added that the innovation will be introduced gradually. The inhabitants of the Far East will be the first to test the new system, and by June it will work throughout the country. According to her, the situation, in fact, will affect just over 10% of bank customers.
“Under this limit, we get, in terms of the average number of transfers, more than 88% of all our customers. That is, the vast majority will receive this service absolutely free, ”she added.
Speaking about the subscription system, Kirsanova indicated that the minimum starting price would be 99 rubles per month. For this amount, the threshold of free transfers will increase to 100 thousand rubles. The cost of "unlimited" starts from 134 rubles. The service can be registered in the Sberbank Online application.
“There will be different tariff plans. It is important to understand that whoever has the Sberbank First or Private package, as part of the package, these transfers will be free of charge regardless of the limit. The subscription will be issued very simply, in just a few clicks at Sberbank Online, ”explained the deputy chairman of the bank.
- RIA News
- © Evgeny Biyatov
According to Kirsanova, there were no subscriptions to transfers on the Russian banking market before. Moreover, the bank cannot make them completely free: “We need basic investments in its further development, including to increase reliability and stability. Therefore, the commissions will be aimed at maintaining infrastructure, technical support, building infrastructure and operational processes, ”Kirsanova explained.
According to the data on international financial reporting standards (IFRS) for 2019, Sberbank received an income of 63.6 billion rubles from commissions related to servicing bank cards, which includes commissions for transfers.
In October 2019, the head of Sberbank German Gref noted that 95% of all bank transfers are free of charge. He also added that the banking organization he runs was a little late with the change in the monetization model.
“We are now changing the monetization model, next year (in 2020 - RT ) we will definitely change it. When we connect to the quick payment system - now the process is going on, in fact - this system will be implemented. Therefore, we tightened a little with the change of monetization model. We needed to change the monetization model earlier. Since April, we began to introduce various experiments in order to understand what will be adequate, what will be perceived by the client, ”Gref said.
Later, he added that Sberbank is testing schemes for changing commission payments, as a result of which an “industrial solution” will be introduced by mid-2020.
The situation with “banking roaming” in the fall of 2019 caused dissatisfaction with Dmitry Medvedev, the then Prime Minister of Russia. He pointed out that credit organizations often try to get increased remuneration for standard procedures that do not carry any financial burden.
“Our country is large, but from the point of view of this kind of electronic transactions, it has absolutely no difference and does not affect the costs. Therefore, this inter-regional discrimination is unacceptable and must be eliminated, ”Medvedev said in October 2019.
In December, a bill canceling commissions when transferring funds between regions of Russia within the framework of one bank was adopted by the State Duma and approved by the Federation Council. Then the document was signed by President Vladimir Putin. The law will enter into force in June 2020.
“The changes should ensure the development of cashless payments and protect the interests of citizens,” the website of the lower house of the Federal Assembly said.