QIWI President Boris Kim: “We target cash-based markets across the globe...
Initially a network of cash collection machines, through which Russians pay for virtually everything from mobile phone bills, to online purchases, to fines, QIWI is now an international, NASDAQ-listed,...
View ArticleRuna Capital injects $2 million in mobile banking startup with global ambitions
Earlier this week RocketBank, a Moscow-based banking application startup, announced that it received $2 million in funding from Runa Capital, a Moscow-based fund operating internationally.RocketBank’s...
View ArticleTele2 Russia teams up with MasterCard to issue virtual international payment...
Tele2 Russia, a former subsidiary of the Swedish telco Tele2 which was acquired earlier this year by Russian bank VTB, has issued a virtual international payment card for online shopping in partnership...
View ArticleWill design dethrone king cash in Russia?
The use of digital banking and electronic payments is expanding in many countries, as consumers embrace technology that facilitates financial services. Yet in Russia, people still cling to cash for...
View ArticleUS peer-to-peer lender LendingClub said to reach $2.3 billion valuation in...
LendingClub Corp., the largest U.S. peer-to-peer lender, received a $57 million investment from Yuri Milner’s DST Global and Coatue Management LLC as the company nears an initial public offering.The...
View ArticleRussian team wins PayPal Battle Hack and a $100,000 prize
Last week, a team of four Russian programmers won the 2013 international PayPal Battle Hack, reported RIA Novosti.PayPal’s Battle Hack 2013 offered teams from Moscow, Berlin, Washington, London, New...
View ArticleTinkoff bank offers credits for Russians’ cross-border online purchases
Cross-border sales operator ViPoint.ru has announced a partnership with Kupivkredit, a subsidiary of the Tinkoff Credit Systems bank, that will allow its Russian customers to purchase goods from US...
View ArticleFlint Capital and Prostor Capital invest $3 million in online financial services
Prostor Capital and Flint Capital have invested $3 million in equal shares in Federal Finance Group, a group of companies developing online financial services. The terms of the deal have not been...
View ArticleRussian e-currencies innovate: Yandex introduces ‘money letters’ while...
While PayPal is starting activities on the Russian market, two domestic e-currencies, Yandex.Money and Money Mail.ru, are introducing their own innovative features.Since late November, Yandex.Money has...
View ArticleRBK Money gets payments services authorization in the UK, aims for EU expansion
London/Moscow – RBK Money, a leading online payments provider in Russia, announced today that it has been granted the status of an Authorized Payment Institution by Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in...
View ArticleKazakhstani businessman Kenges Rakishev leads $3.7 million round in Moscow...
IQcard, a Moscow-based startup offering multifunction bank cards, has raised $3.7 million in a Series B round led by Kenges Rakishev, a prominent businessman from Kazakhstan. The startup’s valuation...
View ArticleLife Sreda invests $730,000 in P2P platform myWishBoard.com
Life.Sreda, a Russian VC fund, announced last week that it has invested $730,000 in myWishBoard.com, a platform enabling online private fundraising by friends and families for fulfilling personal...
View ArticleThe Kartoxa virus: Blame corporate complacency, not Russian hackers
The Kaptoxa virus, which was used to steal more than 70 million credit card numbers in the United States, was “partly written in Russian”, according to a Wall Street Journal article published on...
View ArticleRussian startup IQcard wins international payment industry award
IQcard, a Moscow-based startup offering multifunction bank cards, has been selected as a winner in the Boundary Buster category of the Paybefore Awards.This annual competition confers international...
View ArticleRussia becomes the second country to ban bitcoin
On Jan. 29, the Central Bank of Russia issued an official warning stating that all Bitcoin transactions will be considered potentially suspicious and added that use of Bitcoins in Russia is illegal....
View ArticleGerman consumer-finance startup Kreditech arrives in Russia
German startup Kreditech, a German startup aiming to become “the Amazon for consumer-finance”, has entered the Russian market.It offers micro loans to consumers and also provides a credit rating...
View ArticleNational payment operator Rostelecom to launch new electronic currency
Rostelecom is developing its own payment service, two unspecified sources within the telecom operator have told the Russian business daily Vedomosti. Rostelecom Payment System, an interim name for the...
View ArticleFintech fund Life.SREDA makes first exit
Spanish bank BBVA has acquired Simple, giving Russian fintech fund Life.SREDA its first exit. BBVA paid $117 million for the American innovative banking app, giving Life.SREDA a 180% return on the...
View ArticleQIWI teams up with Western solution providers to combat counterfeit banknotes
IRIS Analytics, a provider of web fraud prevention technology and consultancy services to the payments industry, and Wincor Nixdorf, a provider of IT solutions and services to retailers and retail...
View ArticleQIWI announces Q4 and FY 2013 results
Moscow, Russia – QIWI plc, (Nasdaq:QIWI) today announced results for the fourth-quarter and year ended December 31, 2013. Fourth-Quarter Adjusted Net Revenue increased 35% to RUB 1,700 million and...
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