Demand for QR Payments Grows After Apple and Google Pay Shut Down

Russian stores have a growing interest in connecting payments using the Fast Payment System (SBP), representatives of large acquiring banks told RBC. This is happening against the backdrop of the departure of Visa and Mastercard payment systems from Russia, which led to the inability to pay using Apple Pay (the service has completely curtailed work in the country) and Google Pay with cards from Russian banks.

Payment by QR codes in Russia is more often associated with utility bills, but it is common in Asian countries, especially in China, where this technology is used by popular WeChat and Alipay applications, and payment terminals for card payments, on the contrary, are not in mass demand.

The fast payment system was launched by the Bank of Russia and the National Payment Card System in early 2019. It allows you to transfer money between accounts of different banks, as well as pay for purchases using a QR code and a quick payment link in online stores (the link leads from the store’s website to the mobile bank application, where the buyer must agree to debit money from the account; in this case no need to enter card details).

According to the latest data from the SBP, as of the end of January 2022, over the three years of its operation, about 189,000 retail enterprises have connected the acceptance of payments using this system. Through this service, goods and services were paid for in the amount of 78 billion rubles. For comparison: in 2021, Russians made 48.9 billion payments with the help of cards for a total of 41.3 trillion rubles. Experts attributed the slow development of SBP to the lack of cashback and the inconvenience of using it compared to contactless payments using a smartphone or card.