Page 117 - RusRPTNov18

state-owned retail banking giant Sberbank , have launched “B2B Payments ,” a service intended for companies to accept online payments from corporate clients as easily as from individuals, reports East-West Digital News (EWDN). The service (which can be activated only via Yandex.Checkout) automates invoice generation and makes online payment a quick and easy operation. According to Anatoly Popov, Deputy Chairman of the Board at Sberbank, “the B2B Payments service radically changes the idea of the payment for products by companies.” “The process of an online purchase for a business becomes identical to that for a regular customer: the client simply selects the desired product and payment method, clicks a button, proceeds to the online bank where they find an already completed payment order. All they need to do is sign and send a payment. The store is notified about the payment immediately,” he explained. Thus, the time required to process a B2B payment is reduced “from 1–3 days to 1–3 minutes.” The Yandex.Money press service said that B2B Payments is the first online payment technology of this kind in Russia, and that they “know no analogues in other countries.”
One of Russia's largest private banks Alfa Bank became the anchor investor of fintech fund Corviglia Capital with over $500mn, the CEO of the bank Vladimir Verkhoshinskiy told Reuters on October 22. Reportedly the fund will invest $10mn-50mn in fintech projects for up to five years, planning to invest a total $250mn in the first three years of operations. The Luxembourg-based fund will be ran by the former chair of Alfa Bank Petr Smith. Reuters reminds that currently the leaders on Russian fintech investment market are state behemoth Sberbank and private Tinkoff Bank of Tinkov Credit Systems (TCS). The two banks have recently made the headlines on development of remote biometric identification systems .
Uber Technologies could hold an IPO in 2019. The company has been valued at $120bn by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which is the double of current valuation and exceeds the value of General Motors, Ford Motor and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles combined, according to the Wall Street Journal citing unnamed sources. In one of the biggest deals in the Russian tech sector in 2017, Uber and Yandex.Taxi of internet services major Yandex formed a joined venture in Russia and five other countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and Kazakhstan). The sides said they will invest $225mn and $100mn in the new company, respectively, giving it an estimated $3.8bn valuation and possibly seeking an IPO of the business in 2019 . Yandex currently holds a 59.3% stake and Uber's 36.9% in the joint venture, with the remainder held by employees. The Uber Technologies IPO and record-high valuation is a "positive signal for Yandex.Taxi", BCS Global Markets commented on October 17, noting that the price of Uber's IPO could serve as a future benchmark for Yandex.Taxi valuation. Even the current $70bn valuation of Uber would imply a 30% premium for the Yandex-Uber deal in Russia, BCS writes. Russia's Yandex.Taxi to benefit from high Uber IPO valuation
Russia's internet major Mail.ru Group invested in a farm-to-table delivery service Foodza for small and medium-sized farms together with the head of online clothing store KupiVIP Vladimir Holyaznikov and his partners, Holyaznikov told Vedomosti d aily on October 15. Restaurant food delivery was one of main Mail.ru investments with the Delivery Club, but will soon face competition from Foodplex platform backed by Russia's largest bank Sberbank . In the meantime online shopping, delivery, and pickup of groceries
117 RUSSIA Country Report November 2018 www.intellinews.com