Page 15 - bne_Tech_12_2020

Fintech & E-commerce
December 2020 www.intellinews.com I Page 15
From these failures, Sberbank has reportedly learned two lessons, according to Khasis. First, if Sberbank invests in a company, it must explicitly incorporate the business into its ecosystem. Second, Sberbank must gain full control of the project.
The Bell recently reported that Sberbank is in talks with M.Video to jointly develop its Goods.ru
Gambling regulation poses risks for Russian payment system Qiwi
The Russian State Duma on December 8 in the first reading approved a draft bill on creating
a single gambling regulator and change the system of taxation for bookmakers.
As reported by bne IntelliNews, Russian e-payment system Qiwi faces regulatory risks in the online betting segment, its main revenue stream.
The draft bill calls for a change in regulations to make bookmakers accountable to a single regulator, and for betting payments to be processed by a single processing centre, Sberbank CIB writes on December 9.
It would also change the basis for the targeted deductions paid by bookmakers to sports federations: from the current 5% of revenues but no less than RUB15mn a quarter to 1%
of accepted bets but no less than RUB5mn
a quarter to each sports league and federation.
"If adopted, this legislation could have a very
e-commerce platform. But CEO German Gref said yesterday that Sberbank is not planning any large e-commerce purchases in the near future.
This article originally appeared in FPRI's BMB Russia newsletter. Click here to learn more about BMB Russia and subscribe to the newsletter.
negative impact on Qiwi's betting-related revenues, which accounted for 41% of its payment services net revenues in 2019," Sberbank CIB estimates.
Still, there is upside risk, as Qiwi could become the single payment processing partner for the entire industry (it is currently one of two).
"However, in any case the change in regulations would have an adverse impact on betting yields, as bookmakers would seek to optimise their costs," Sberbank CIB warns.
Qiwi reported 11% year-on-year growth in revenues under IFRS in 3Q20 to RUB6.6bn ($87mn), with adjusted Ebitda and net profit jumping by 60% and 73% y/y, achieving margins of 61% and 49% respectively.
The company has improved its asset mix and also posted solid 2Q20 financials, but uncertainty over its shareholder structure remains after a botched SPO attempt.