Sberbank and MasterCard release Russia’s first one-touch contactless payment acceptance solution for smartphones

Sberbank and international payment system MasterCard announce the launch of a pilot version of the Sberbank TapOnPhone application. Russian retailers will now be able to accept bank card and smart device payments by making a single tap on their smartphones. Sberbank is the acquirer of the project and is also assisting in the development of the app. Retail points at Sberbank’s Agile Home office in Moscow will be the first to test out this innovative solution.

Sberbank TapOnPhone is intended for small and medium-sized businesses that operate in the services sector (taxi companies, cafes, restaurants, couriers, etc.). The technology works on any NFC-capable smartphone running Android 6.0 and later. To set up the service, business owners should enter into an acquiring contract with Sberbank and install the mobile app on their devices. A single-use code is sent to the phone number indicated in the contract to activate the app.

All operations carried out via the app are secured by MasterCard’s contactless payment protocol. To accept a payment, the merchant opens the app and then enters the payment amount. Next the customer pays for the item or service by holding their MasterCard contactless card or other NFC-enabled device (smartphone, smart watch, bracelet, etc.) running Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay over the merchant’s ‘POS smartphone’. If the purchase amount is higher than 1,000 roubles and a bank card is used, the customer may be asked to provide an electronic signature. The app allows receipts to be sent to customers via email and refunds can be issued.

Svetlana Kirsanova, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank and Head of the Retail Business Block:

“Sberbank is Russia’s biggest issuer of MasterCard cards and the country’s largest acquirer. We want to provide new contactless payment opportunities to both individuals and legal entities. That’s why employees of the retail points in one of Sberbank’s offices will be the first to test out the new application. This will help our partners at MasterCard perfect the app to offer the best customer experience – for consumers and merchants.”

Mikhail Fedoseyev, Vice President for Business Development and Digital Payments in Rapidly Developing European Markets at MasterCard:

“MasterCard’s Russian operations are focused on creating the best payment innovations. Sberbank TapOnPhone provides more opportunities to small and medium-sized businesses and encourages the development of cashless payment in Russia. All parties will benefit from the app. Businesspeople will be able to save money that would otherwise be spent on expensive POS devices and speed up the launch of acquiring services. Banks will be able to cut costs on supplying, repairing and managing terminals, and avoid spending time on installing terminals and training people to use them. And MasterCard cardholders will be able to shop at places that previously didn’t accept cards.”