Russian banks to unleash first contactless ATMs
Russia is about to have its first contactless ATMs offering currency transactions via smartphones.
Sberbank and Russian Standard Bank lead the way
This wave of innovation will include cash withdrawals and other operations using Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay. To perform the necessary operation, users need to attach a smartphone to the terminal equipped with an NFC reader.
This autumn, Sberbank and Russian Standard Bank launched the technology in test mode.
It is anticipated that they will soon be joined by VTB, Credit Bank of Moscow (CBOM), Otkritie and other Russian banks, which are considering introducing contactless ATMs in 2019.
“Nowadays, a card is not just a piece of plastic, but a means of payment, which can take the form of a ring, phone or key fob”, says Alexei Okhorzin, director of the retail product department at Credit Bank of Moscow.
He adds: “The introduction of contactless banking instruments is a promising way of development in terms of the payment service format, which meets CBOM corporate goals to provide customers with high-tech and comfortable solutions for everyday life and business.”
According to Okhorzin, over 80% of the bank’s customers use various contactless payment services.
The Russian banks point out that in Europe this service did not take hold from the very outset, “despite the fact that the first ATM allowing to perform contactless operations appeared in Spain back in April 2011, the active introduction of the technology peaked in 2017 after it was adopted by Barclays, with the geographic coverage still expanding”.
The banks say Latvia and Estonia in the Baltic region were the last to launch contactless ATMs in the EU.
We’ll see if Russia can do better.
