PRESS: Russia’s Sberbank in talks with operators to launch MVNO

MOSCOW, Apr 14 (PRIME) -- Russia’s biggest bank Sberbank has been holding talks for a year with several cellular operators on the creation of a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), and T2 RTK Holding and VimpelCom are among the most probable partners, business daily Vedomosti reported Thursday, citing several sources.

A source close to Sberbank said that the bank expects not only to make its financial services more popular among smartphone owner thanks to the MVNO, but also to reduce expenses of servicing clients.

The bank sends out its clients numerous SMSs and pays cellular operators for them: it spends some U.S. $100 million on these services per year, the source said, adding that a partnership with an operator will save much money.

Konstantin Prokshin, a spokesman for T2 RTK Holding, working under the Tele2 brand, confirmed that the operator had held preliminary talks with Sberbank about the MVNO. Tele2 is open for proposals, but a priority is still placed on the creation of a virtual operator jointly with Rostelecom, which owns 45% in Tele2, he said.

Creation of a virtual operator is a way to shape reputation of a technological and innovative bank, Anatoly Smorgonsky, former head of Tele2’s MVNO department, told the daily.

Such a project is profitable for the companies with wide retail networks and strong brands, Smorgonsky said. Sberbank with its 16,000 offices across the country and a popular brand suits the description.

Merging mobile and classical finances is a world trend, Smorgonsky said. A SIM card can be added with an electronic signature, which allows customers to accept bank offers via a handset, he said.

Cellular operators’ information about subscribers can replenish banks’ data on clients and their preferences, Smorgonsky said.

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