Tinkoff Bank to launch virtual mobile operator on Tele2’s network

MOSCOW, Apr 5 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Tinkoff Bank will create a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) on the network of T2 RTK Holding, working as Tele2, the lender said on Wednesday in a statement.

The MVNO will service both current Tinkoff Bank’s customers and others and will have its own network code, number range and SIM cards which will be delivered across Russia via the bank’s courier network.

“We have recently been seeing finance and telecoms increasingly converging with each other lately. The launch of our own MVNO is a logical and timely addition to our range of products and services. This is part of our strategy to build a fully-fledged ecosystem based around our online platform Tinkoff.ru,” the bank’s CEO Oliver Hughes said.

“The MVNO will leverage the core strengths and expertise of both our financial retail business and our best in class customer service to deliver great value for both our current customers and future mobile customers.

“It will significantly contribute to our value proposition. And we will even further improve customer experience to retain customers and build up our loyalty base. Furthermore, some cost synergies are expected by reducing servicing expenses. This new business arm is set to make yet another non-credit revenue pool for our business,” Hughes said.

The date when the new mobile service will be available for customers will be announced later.

Tinkoff Bank is a part of TCS Group Holding and is the first Russian bank to become fully digitalized with 4 million clients on the national scale.

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