Without extra bills: Russians began to transfer money by phone number 16 times more often

In 2020, the number of money transfers in Russia through the fast payment system (FPS) increased almost 16 times compared to 2019 - from 7 million to 110 million.At the same time, the volume of transactions increased more than 13 times - from 59 billion to 790 billion rubles.

RT was told about this in the press service of the National Payment Card System (NSPK).

As the specialists of the organization noted, the positive dynamics continued in 2021.

According to the latest estimates, in January the Russians made more than 23 million transfers worth about 160 billion rubles.

Thus, since the launch of the SBP, the total volume of transactions in the system has exceeded 1 trillion rubles.

The growing popularity of instant payments among the population is also noted by lending organizations interviewed by RT.

For example, according to Promsvyazbank, since February 2019, more than a quarter of customers have used the service.

According to Aleksey Khranilov, Head of the Translations Department of the VTB Digital Business Department, in 2020, 33% of the total number of transfers fell on the share of transactions via SBP.

“The average check of transfers in SBP was about 6 thousand rubles.

The minimum transaction size was recorded in January 2020 - over 5 thousand rubles, and the maximum - in May, more than 8 thousand rubles, ”said Khranilov.

The sharp rise in remittances in 2020 was due in part to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Timofey Perov, the executive director of the financial and technical platform Fast River, told RT.

“The pandemic and the self-isolation regime played a role, therefore, against the background of forced restrictions, users chose a more convenient digital format for transferring funds.

Also, the popularity of the service was influenced by the ability to send money quickly and free of charge, ”the expert emphasized.

Recall that the fast payment system was launched at the beginning of 2019 and allows customers of different banks to instantly transfer funds by phone number.

At the same time, since May 1, 2020, Russians have been able to carry out relevant operations for up to 100 thousand rubles per month without commission.

Moreover, at the moment the Central Bank plans to oblige banks to increase the free transfer limit to 150 thousand rubles per day.

This is stated in the draft instructions of the Central Bank.

As follows from the document, credit institutions must adjust their limits by October 1, 2021.

“The introduction of preferential tariffs by the Bank of Russia contributed to an increase in the number of transactions through the BPS.

At present, 96% of transfers are within the limit of 100 thousand rubles.

At the same time, the remaining 4% account for about half of the total amount of all transfers, "said Daniyar Imangaliev, deputy chairman of the board of the Eurasian Development Bank, in a conversation with RT.

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• © Ilya Pitalev

"Cheap alternative for business"

In addition to transfers, the fast payment system also allows you to pay for purchases using special QR codes.

The service was launched in September 2019, and today more than 40 banks support this payment method.

“In 2019, more than 2 thousand operations were carried out using the service for the amount of 1.9 million rubles.

Meanwhile, already in 2020, users have paid more than 700 thousand times for goods and services using the QR code in the amount of almost 4 billion rubles, ”the NSPK study says.

In January 2021, Russians made about 130 thousand purchases using the SBP.

The volume of transactions amounted to 830 million rubles.

Market participants are recording similar dynamics.

As RT was told in Russian Standard Bank, the demand for the service is growing noticeably as more and more retail outlets are connected to the service.

“In December 2020, the total amount of such transactions was 369 times higher than the level of December 2019, and the number of transactions increased 130 times.

Over the year, the average check of payment by QR code has grown by 31% - up to 6.9 thousand rubles, ”added the organization's specialists.

As Daniyar Imangaliev noted, business is actively switching to new forms of payment, since transfers through the SBP allow entrepreneurs to reduce some of their costs.

According to the specialist, the maximum commission for accepting payments in the SBP for enterprises is 0.7%.

At the same time, the commission for acquiring - payment for goods or services by bank cards - for stores varies from 1.2 to 2.2%, according to the Central Bank.

“Thus, accepting payments through the QR-code scanning system is becoming a cheap alternative for business compared to using acquiring,” Imangaliev emphasized.

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• © Evgeny Odinokov

According to experts of the CloudPayments service, within two to three years, the shares of payments by bank cards and by QR code can become equal.

At the same time, the increase in the number of transactions in the SBP may have a positive effect on the share of non-cash payments in Russia, experts are sure.

According to the Central Bank, in 2020, almost 70% of all payments in the country were made without using cash.

It is noteworthy that back in 2014 this figure was about 25%.

According to CloudPayments' forecast, in 2021 the share of non-cash payments in Russia will grow to 75%, and by 2022 it will be able to reach 80%.

“The coronavirus pandemic, which provoked a significant increase in online payments as a result of the transformation of demand from real points of sale to the Internet, had a significant impact on such dynamics,” said Dmitry Spiridonov, CEO of CloudPayments, in a conversation with RT.