Izvestia reports with reference to own sources that Russians will be able to transfer money via messengers as soon as next year.

FinTech Association, founded in collaboration with the Bank of Russia, has confirmed the report and noted that any transfer via mobile phone will be carried out by the number or email, as well as social network account.


Transfers via Тelegram, WhatsApp, Viber and Facebook Messenger will be possible after the mentioned messenger services are integrated with the Fast Payment System that FinTech Association is developing, said an Izvestia source close to the bank. WhatsApp and Viber have announced their support for the novelty.


The project will enable users to transfer money to each other, bypassing the mobile and online banks of credit organizations. The messengers will feature a payment/transfer button. Clicking on it will bring out a pop-up window, where the user will need to enter the phone number, recipient’s account and the recipient bank. The messenger services will define the interface and the payments will be made online.

“As you can see, the payment mechanism is expected to resemble the one used in the transfers from Sberbank card by phone number, where the payment is made through the mobile operator. Sberbank has its own messenger as well in Sberbank Online app: the messenger transfers money online, but you need to sign in the online bank to use it,” Izvestia reports.


Nevertheless, the experts point out the risks for data security, which is why the authorization and establishment of limits on transactions remain priority issues for payment via messengers.

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