All news
Two new payment services will appear in Russia: "Volna" and BRICS Pay
Two new payment services are coming to Russia: Volna and BRICS Pay.
According to the developers, "Volna" and BRICS Pay not only allow using the iPhone for contactless payment with Mir cards, but also allow Russians to pay with Russian cards abroad, and will also allow foreigners to use visas in Russia. It is planned to allow payment with Visa and MasterCard cards. Is this really possible? When can we expect the new product?
Wave and BRICS Pay. Two new payment services are coming to Russia. The first will allow contactless payments with a Mir card using an iPhone, and the second, as the developers promise, will allow Russians to pay with Russian Mir cards abroad, and foreigners - with Visa and Mastercard cards in Russia. . do.
The Russian alternative to Apple Pay was announced by the National Payment Card System at the Finopolis forum. Volna services work even without an Internet connection. This payment method can be used not only by iPhone owners, but also by Android devices. Instead of the NFC chip used in all other contactless payment applications, Volna will use the Bluetooth Low Energy chip, which is found in almost all modern smartphones, not just Apple ones.
Payment via Bluetooth is not a revolution in the world of contactless payments. That is why the South African company Lipa Payments has a ready-made solution in this area. In Russia, work in this direction did not even begin yesterday, says Valentin Petukhov, author of the Wylsacom Red Telegram channel.
Volna needs a new payment terminal to operate. There is nothing like this in Russia yet. But that is not a problem. Domestic developers will be able to add the necessary chips to their equipment without any problems. However, there are still questions about the security of such payments. Mobile technology expert Nikolai Turubar continues:
BRICS Pay, a secondary payment service, will reportedly be able to use Visa, Mastercard, and Mir cards for QR payments. The BRICS Business Council said cashless payment services for foreigners could appear in Russia this year. Next year, the system could also be applied to Russians in Turkey, Egypt, and the Maldives.
As the head of the BRICS Business Council Andrey Mikhailishin told RBC, in the future citizens of all countries, not just BRICS member countries, will be able to use services and link cards in any currency, including national currencies. It sounds interesting, but it is not yet clear how this will be implemented. And how long will it work? The same Visa could block card transactions from BRICS Pay if it wanted, believes the head of the analytical agency Content-Review Sergey Polovnikov.
Both Volna and BRICS Pay have one drawback. This is a mobile application that is planned to be released in the App Store and Google Play. You can be removed from there at any time, as has happened more than once with the programs of approved Russian banks.
For Android phones, this doesn’t matter much. The software is installed from an alternative source. The iPhone doesn’t have this feature. And if the same Apple decides that BRICS Pay violates the sanctions regime, Apple device owners won’t get this service. Or, more precisely, there’s no easy way to install it on your device.