Digital Payments & Fintech - Russia

The Bank of Russia is the sole regulator of the national payment system under Federal Law 161-FZ. Payment system rules must be registered with the Bank of Russia, and each system must appoint an operator plus operational, clearing and settlement centres located in Russia.

Under 161-FZ, electronic money may only be issued by licensed credit institutions (banks/non-bank credit organisations), subordinated to AML thresholds — there is no standalone EMI licence as in the EU; e-money operators must hold a banking licence.

The Faster Payments System (SBP), operated by the Bank of Russia with NSPK as operations/clearing centre, provides 24/7 instant interbank transfers (under ~15 seconds). As of 1 May 2026 it covered 226 banks and had processed 49.1 billion transactions.

The Bank of Russia has a phased open-API roadmap: the largest banks, brokers and insurers are obliged to adopt open APIs from 2026, with microfinance organisations, depositories and digital-financial-asset operators following in 2027.

The law 'On Providing Installment Payment Services,' adopted June 2025, takes effect 1 April 2026: it bars hidden fees/price inflation, caps zero-interest installments at six months (four months from 2028), caps penalties at 20% per annum, and requires credit-bureau reporting above set debt thresholds. It applies to specialised online BNPL services, not seller-offered installments or POS loans.

Legislation sets a phased mandatory rollout of the retail digital ruble: federal-budget use from October 2025/January 2026 and mass adoption from 1 September 2026, with merchants above RUB 120m revenue required to accept it first and banks onboarded by licence tier.