International payment systems Visa and Mastercard are going to oblige Russian banks to issue only contactless (NFC-based) cards, which enable users to make one-touch payments.

RBC reports with reference to its own sources that the corresponding requirements have been sent to the Russian banks. Visa will enact the new regulations on April 13, 2019, and Mastercard will do the same on April 12, 2021.

Mastercard press service has confirmed these reports, while Visa has yet to respond to the RBC inquiry. Three Russian banks have said they are aware of the new rules, and as for the payment system Mir, it does not intend to adopt them.

RBC also cites experts who note that the Central Bank of Russia does not demand from banks to issue contactless cards, but there is a requirement for microchips, which is why the banks issue regular cards along with the NFC ones. Issuing contactless cards is more expensive, so the new requirement of the payment systems will affect the banks that still issue contact cards for certain client segments in order to optimize their expenses.


Depending on the size of the batch, procurement of contactless cards costs the bank 1.5-2 times more than procurement of contact one. The cost depends on various factors such as the payment system, the amount of the cards, additional effects, etc, but the price of the microchip has the key influence.

According to the experts, the shift to contactless technologies is going to be a challenge mostly for small and regional banks. Large banks have their own processing centers to reduce the cost price of issuing cards, so the shift to the contactless is not so painful for them.

Mastercard data shows that contactless payments via card or smartphone have surpassed the mark of 50% in Russia. The simplicity, convenience and security of the technology put it in high demand.

In autumn 2018 Visa said that Russia was among top three countries where people make the most contactless payments, both via contactless cards and smartphones (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, etc.).

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