KOMMERSANT. Holding QIWI Ltd, which includes QIWI, the market leader in instant electronic payments, announced the acquisition of its own bank: 100% of First Processing Bank are now held by United System of Instant Payments (USIP), which makes up the holding. As Kommersant business daily wrote quoting the press service of QIWI Ltd, the deal that was announced on Wednesday had been closed in early October.
So, in fact payment system QIWI has become the first 100% owner of the commercial bank on this market. For the record, payment system Elecsnet also owns the lending institution, Mosclearingcenter, but this is a non-banking institution. Mobile retailer Svyaznoy also accepts payments and at the beginning of 2010 it bought a 49.3% stake in Promtorgbank (renamed in Svyaznoy Bank).
Before executing a transaction with QIWI Ltd First Processing Bank implemented a number of joint projects. Furthermore, the companies had common shareholders: previously QIWI-affiliated individuals held a 45% interest in the bank, which provided no guarantee for long-term and efficient cooperation.
The bulk of payments made via payment terminals (money transfers, loan repayment, sale of virtual cards, payments to government authorities, payment of utility bills) suggest dynamic interaction with banks, experts say. “If the portion of these products is low it is quite logical to provide them through a partner bank, but in this case the payment system pays fees to the bank and loses some profit," explained Boris Kim, chairman of the Committee of the Association of Electronic Trade Participants for Payment Systems and Banking Instruments. Therefore, when the turnover of payment business is heavy, it is more profitable to own a bank, he added. QIWI-processed payments, according to the company’s data, topped Rub 160.8 bln in January-June 2010.
The transaction has one more aspect: market participants specify that the draft law on the national payment system, which the finance ministry compiled, aims to restrict access of payment systems to e-money issue (a lending institution’s license is required for this). Under discussion is also the issue that a payment system operator can be only an institution that holds these licenses. In view of this, the payment system’s acquisition of a bank looks logical, Kim noted. QIWI Ltd. also specified that the target of the deal is to offset future regulatory risks. As director of the company’s press service Alexandra Vysochkina said, the bank’s acquisition could help the holding also if payment system operators are obliged to insure payments at banks.
