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Study: 'Introduction to the Russian Payment Market'

April 3, 2013

Russia is fast becoming one of world's most attractive financial services markets, with many segments positioned for tremendous growth. Between 2007 and 2011, the country experienced growth rates comparable to China's in segments such as ATM deployment, payment card issuance, bank branch openings and POS terminal rollouts.

A new report from Mercator Advisory Group, "Introduction to the Russian Payment Market," is the research firm's latest in a series examining international markets. The study sheds light on Russian payments and unravels their mystery, Mercator said in a news release about the report.

"Initially, the Russian payment market appears stout, especially with the number of debit cards exceeding the total population of the country," said Tristan Hugo-Webb, analyst for the international advisory service at Mercator Advisory Group and the primary author of the report. "However, under closer scrutiny the wider payment market is confounding."

Despite the large number of debit cards issued, formal bank account penetration is less than 50 percent, said Hugo-Webb. "Furthermore the overall number of ATMs and POS terminals is tiny compared with the size of the population. These oddities of the Russian payment market highlight the significant prospect for growth in the future."

Highlights of the report include:

• examination of trends in payment card, banking, merchant, and e-commerce segments between 2007 and 2011;
• near-future projections (2013, 2015, and 2020) for Russian payment market segments;
• comparison of the Russian payment market with that of other countries such as Brazil, Cina and India;
• Summary of selected payment industry leaders and their role in Russia's overall domestic payment market.

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