The Mir system will launch card transfers for business

Banks will be able to launch transfers using Mir corporate cards from the end of April.The possibility of such operations for companies disappeared after the departure of Visa and Mastercard - now they send money according to the old scheme with payment orders

The Mir payment system obliged banks to launch a new type of transfers - between corporate cards and accounts (b2b transfers). This is stated in the Mir newsletter, which RBC got acquainted with, the authenticity of the document was confirmed by two sources in the payment market.

Banks can start implementing b2b transfers for their corporate clients from April 25, when the Mir technical bulletin comes into effect. The term for the implementation of the operation in each bank may differ.

“b2b transfers are a method of mutual settlements for corporate clients of Russian participants in the Mir payment system, which combines the information content and completeness of payment data, typical for settlements by payment orders, and the recipient’s instant availability of funds, which is guaranteed by transfers from card to card in the Mir payment system ", the bulletin says.

As a representative of the National Payment Card System (NSPK, Mir operator) told RBC, a new type of transaction was introduced by the Mir payment system in response to a request from market participants. b2b transfers can be used by legal entities and individual entrepreneurs who are holders of Mir corporate cards. “This type of operation will make it possible to make mutual settlements between legal entities and individual entrepreneurs 24/7 through remote banking channels, such as a mobile bank or a personal account on the bank’s website,” says a NSPK representative. To send a transfer, you need to specify the purpose of the payment, information about VAT, TIN of the sender and recipient, as well as information about residency.

According to the latest available data from the Central Bank at the end of the third quarter of 2022, Russian banks issued 6.6 million cards for legal entities. With their help, 380.5 million various operations were carried out for a total amount of 4.3 trillion rubles. Data on the share of payment systems in the regulator's statistics are not provided. For comparison: 377.4 million cards were issued to individuals. Citizens made 50.9 billion transactions on them for 109 trillion rubles.

Are b2b card transfers necessary?

Before the imposition of sanctions, the business card transfer service worked on the basis of international payment systems, says Kirill Tikhonov, vice president, deputy HEAD of the block "medium and small business" of Promsvyazbank. “Currently, bank customers who are legal entities make payments using payment orders. The new service will allow transferring funds from one business card to another business card, knowing only the recipient's card number, which greatly simplifies the client's path.” The same is said by the representative of Absolut Bank. “Customer experience will be significantly improved, as this method of transfers is more convenient and faster than existing ones today. Currently, clients make interbank transfers using payment orders,” he notes.

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Payment orders have a long term for enrollment - from one to three days - and are not the best option for business, "considering that the process includes entering all the details and if even one detail is incorrect or incomplete, the financial institution may refuse to operate," says the DIRECTOR practices for providing consulting services to companies in the financial sector Kept Olga Blednova. In addition, the launch of the product can help to better track fraudulent transactions, as "the payment system sees the totality of transactions across all banks, which each bank is deprived of individually," she said.

According to Tikhonov, b2b transfers will significantly speed up settlements between counterparties, especially for individual entrepreneurs who work under a simplified taxation system. The representative of Absolut Bank believes that at the initial stage the service will be in demand among entrepreneurs and representatives of small organizations.

“This approach creates a client experience for legal entities that is similar to the processes we are used to for individuals and can be especially in demand in the segment of small and medium-sized businesses,” agrees Maxim Nalyutin, head of the group for working with financial institutions at DRT. However, he warns that the fees for such transfers are usually higher than for using traditional payment orders. In addition, card-to-card transfers “have a number of limitations compared to payment orders, such as transfer amounts, transaction volume,” adds Blednova. How this process will build "Mir" will be seen in practice, she concludes.