MTS says to charge 1% on topping up phone, Web, TV soon

MOSCOW, Jul 13 (PRIME) -- Russian mobile operator MTS will charge a commission of no more than 1% on topping up the account of phone number, the home Internet, and TV from July 27, the company said on Thursday in a statement.

MTS said that replenishment of balances through a number of ways “brings additional expenses to MTS.” The 1% commission is retained when the balance is topped up with a bank card in application My MTS and some other partner services.

The commission amounts to 0.4% for the use of the Fast Payments System in the application or on MTS’ website.

No extra payment is charged with automatic payments and some other cases.

“In the current conditions, when the operators have to fight for every kopeck, it is an absolutely logical step,” Mobile Research Group leading analyst Eldar Murtazin said.

The other top large operators – T2 RTK Holding, working as Tele2; VimpelCom, working as Beeline; and MegaFon – told PRIME they do not charge such commissions for payment of services.

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