The most discussed bill in the field of personal finance is the law “On the National Payment System”, which was adopted by the State Duma in the 3rd reading. According to him, the Central Bank will limit bank fees for plastic cards. International Visa and MasterCard companies will have to adjust or leave. For the end user, the benefits are not obvious, time will tell ...
Commissions for acquiring services became the bone of contention (this is the commission paid by the seller to the bank for the fact that we can pay with plastic bank cards at retail outlets). Now the Central Bank will limit the appetites of other commercial banks.
The development and adoption of the law is only a consequence of financial wars between bankers and traders. It did not work out, and now the rules of the game will be lowered from above.
How much does convenience shopping cost?
According to the Association of Retail Companies (ACORT), today sellers lose from 1 to 3% on payment of acquiring fees. Most of these funds go to the accounts of the card issuing bank. True, prices in Russia and developed countries are very different. While in the Russian market this service costs 1.3% of the purchase amount, in Europe the commission is 0.2% for debit and 0.3% for credit cards. Here you have a developed banking system.
Naturally, the rates for this service significantly reduce the profitability of the business, which means that, ultimately, ordinary consumers pay for the risks and convenience of making payments on the card, that is, we are with you. The hope of lawmakers is that all the same bankers and their clients will agree without the intervention of the Central Bank. Wait and see.
In turn, the banking opposition claims that the reduction of these commissions will make it impossible to develop cashback programs, bonuses, miles and other services.
Who's new?
But what we definitely have to face in the fall is the new service of payment via a QR code. Cash flows will go through the Quick Payment System, which is being tested since the beginning of this year.
From January 2020, this service will be paid, the commission will be 0.4% of the turnover. According to the developers, this will reduce the cost of cashless payments by three times.
Change or leave the market
Among the innovations of the law is the requirement for payment systems to work according to the rules of the Central Bank. Failure to comply will result in fines.
This applies, first of all, to foreign systems, which currently, with differences in requirements between Russian and foreign banks, choose the side of the latter (for example, when it comes to uninterrupted operation under conditions of sanctions). The companies have two options: to adjust or leave the market. The latter is unlikely, since Russia is an attractive segment, especially since 90% of customers are connected to foreign systems.
In this regard, the domestic MIR system looks more and more attractive, and its leadership, at least, “giggles” aside over the problems of foreign partners.