PRESS: Banks seek higher fees for corp clients in rapid payment sys

MOSCOW, Jul 11 (PRIME) -- A number of large Russian banks seek an increase of the minimum fee in the rapid payment system for settlements with corporate bodies to 1% from 0.4% proposed by the central bank, Kommersant business daily reported Thursday citing participants of a working group on the rapid payment system.

According to Kommersant, banks plan to introduce additional fees for corporate bodies, which will make the cost of payments comparable to tariffs during payments by card – an average of 1.85%.

Representatives of banks insist that the commission amount to 1%, and then the bank will pay a fee from it further to the system. Participants of the working group said that Sberbank, VTB Bank, Alfa-Bank, and Raiffeisenbank do not agree with the central bank’s suggestions. Sberbank and Raiffeisenbank did not comment, while Alfa-Bank said it is forming position on this issue in terms of protecting interests of its retail clients.

VTB Bank said it proposed to introduce a differentiated tariff depending on the category of the sale point. “Its maximum rate was suggested by us at less than 1%, which is significantly lower than the current acquiring commissions. A low tariff will reduce banks’ commission income that is currently being allotted for customer loyalty programs (cashback, miles, bonuses, etc.),” a spokesperson for the bank said.

Low tariffs will also force banks to introduce additional fees for using the service, VTB also said.

The central bank said it is discussing the tariff model with all interested parties and will release the tariff range in the near future.

The central bank launched its rapid payment system for banks in February, it includes the possibility of transferring money knowing only the phone number of a recipient.

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