Russia Tries to Replace Apple Pay and Google Pay with Gazprom Pay

Russian banks are continuing to ramp up the range of services they provide in a bid to continue providing their services outside the global banking networks they have been frozen out of after Russia invaded Ukraine.

As previously reported, a number of Russian banks and their cards have been frozen out of digital payment platforms such as Apple Pay and Google Pay in line with Western-led sanctions. But banks are responding with a number of solutions, including a new service from Gazprombank, the banking branch of the state-controlled energy giant Gazprom.

Per a press release, the bank has unveiled a solution named the GazpromPay wallet, which should go online on March 22. The bank said that the wallet will allow users to make “quick, convenient, and safe” payments from any bank card when using online stores.

The bank added that the wallet would allow customers with smart devices to link existing bank cards as well as “instantly issue” and use “virtual cards” in order to make purchases at online stores with “profitable cashback” options providing up to 5% refunds on purchases.

The solution will do away with the need for customers to enter card details every time they pay online, the firm said, adding that the “need to invest in the development of such services in Russia today has acquired particular relevance” in recent days.

As reported earlier today, fellow Russian banks including Sberbank have been granted permission to operate “digital financial asset” issuance and exchange services in a bid to broaden the range of services they provide their customers as sanctions continue to bite.

Meanwhile, in a further sign that reports of the disillusionment of key Vladimir Putin aide Elvira Nabiullina may have been premature, the latter – the Governor of the Central Bank – has stated that a “gradually resumption” of trading will begin on the Moscow Exchange.

Nabiullina stated that trading in federal loan bonds would resume on March 21, although purchases would be made in volumes that would be “necessary to limit risks to financial stability,” Kommersant reported.

Putin has officially nominated Nabiullina to serve as the Central Bank chief until 2024, Cryptonews.com reported earlier today. 
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