Formation of the National Payment System in Russia based on the experience of specialized payment systems

At the VTB investment forum "Russia Calling", Russian President Vladimir Putin reported the establishment of mechanisms that provide "an ability to make transactions using plastic cards of leading payment systems even in the case of domestic banks disconnection". Earlier, the President enacted a bill on the establishment of the National Payment System on May 5, 2014. The law aimed at securing money transfers through the Russian Payment System. These events were a reaction of the Russian Government on the Visa and Master Card management actions that, under the United States sanctions, ceased to serve cards of a number of Russian banks. The law obliged all foreign payment systems to make a security deposit quarterly from July 1 in the amount of 25 % of the average daily turnover to a special account in the Bank of Russia. In response to this law, the CEO of Visa reported a possible cessation of work in Russia, as the new security deposits are several times higher than the company's annual income in Russia. Later, Visa and MasterCard came to an agreement with the Russian authorities on the new working conditions in the territory of the country. The author takes into account the experience of the Central Bank field agencies in using "Zolotaya Korona" system. In her opinion, to accelerate the formation of the National Payment System, Russia has to: 1) take the geopolitical interests of Russia into account; 2) organize the legislative support of the National Payment System in Russia as it contributes to the development of the national economy; 3) upgrade the existing specialized payment solutions; 4) limit the NPS realization to three years, which is consistent with China agreements on strengthening the national currencies status. Russia has all the conditions to establish an efficient national payment system basing on the experience of specialized payment systems. In 2015, the Russian National Payment System aims to establish new unique payment tools independent from the western countries, yet beneficially influencing the Russian Federation banking system. As a result, it is possible to expect that in a short time exceptionally Russian credit cards will appear. The creation of this system is planned for the current year; therefore, in a few months all specialists in this sphere must literally develop a unique project which assumes the establishment of a reliable, high-quality, safe, efficient and independent Russian payment system. The issued cards must be competitive in comparison with cards the USA produces. Many analysts assert that the development of the Russian National Payment System will require investment of significant funds which can exceed tens of billions of dollars. The Russian National Payment System causes many disputes among the experts in 2015. The fact is that many of them are sure that the Russian Federation is not so developed to create a competitive and efficient system in such a short time. It is yet asserted that it is necessary to begin to develop and improve the system now to be able to use it efficiently in the near future.

Keywords

Authors

References