The Cipher of omnipotence: The authorities argued over universal QR and competition

The Ministry of Justice and the Federal Antimonopoly Service did not support the government's draft positive review on the introduction of a universal QR code. The departments believe that it needs to be supplemented with standards that will ensure competitive conditions for all market participants. The positions of the Ministry of Justice and the Federal Antimonopoly Service, as well as the draft government review prepared by the Ministry of Finance, are available to Izvestia. However, they informed the editorial staff that the document is still being finalized. Currently, the bill assumes that only a payment solution from the NSPK will be installed at the cash desks, while the market is ready to offer its own mechanism. The Bank of Russia will have to find compromises, otherwise the launch of the digital ruble risks being delayed. What alternatives to the universal QR code exist can be found in the Izvestia article.

The authorities did not approve the bill on the digital ruble

The authorities cannot agree on an initiative to launch a universal QR code from the NSPK, which is proposed to be mandatory for all outlets, Izvestia found out. The Ministry of Justice and the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) criticized the government's response prepared by the Ministry of Finance to the draft law on the digital ruble and universal QR, the provisions of which caused controversy. They are confident that such a decision will create unequal conditions for participants in the payment market.

Earlier, the Central Bank proposed to legislate the rule on payment for purchases using a universal QR code from the National Payment Card System (NSPK is 100% owned by the Bank of Russia), as stated by the head of the regulator, Elvira Nabiullina, in the fall of 2024. In this case, only one code will be installed at the checkout in the store, which will work on a single infrastructure. This is necessary so that people don't get confused when paying.

The government in its draft response to the bill draws attention to the variety of payment services in the Russian Federation, follows from the document (Izvestia has it, it was prepared by the Ministry of Finance). Therefore, it is proposed to introduce a forwarding system from a universal QR code to platforms of different market participants - such a system is called payment roaming.

This position is softer than the approach of the Central Bank, which assumes the operation of a universal QR code based only on the NSPK. However, even in this form, the government's draft recall received criticism from government agencies.

The Ministry of Justice did not support the draft review, since it does not mention the possibility of providing a QR code by different organizations, follows from the department's response letter (also available from Izvestia). This is necessary to maintain competition.

In addition, the Ministry of Justice stressed that the regulation of the digital ruble should be developed by the government, not the Central Bank, since it is related to issues of digitalization and antitrust measures.

The FAS also did not support the draft government's response to the bill on the digital ruble (Izvestia also has its comment). The Service noted that the document does not take into account its past comments on the initiative — for example, there is no provision on "non-discriminatory access to means of payment." Also, the bill did not take into account the requirement for the free connection of a universal QR code from the NSPK.

The draft of the government's withdrawal is currently being finalized, the press service of the Ministry of Finance (which prepared the document) told Izvestia. The editorial board also sent requests to the Ministry of Justice and the Federal Antimonopoly Service.

The bill on the universal QR code has already received a negative review from the State Duma Committee for the Protection of Competition. The deputies were confused by the fact that the NSPK gets the exclusive rights to create a universal QR code. At the same time, the Constitution of the Russian Federation "does not allow economic activities aimed at monopolization and unfair competition," the document says.

According to the committee members, this approach will close the market to other players, which will harm the industry and its development, for example, in terms of creating new payment services. People will lose the opportunity to choose products that are profitable for themselves, the committee is confident.

Why does the Central Bank insist on a single QR code

The press service of the NSPK told Izvestia that the Central Bank's initiative would help maintain balance in the payment market and ensure equal conditions for everyone.

"The universal QR code should be based on the decision of the NSPK," the Central Bank's press service also stressed.

In addition, the initiative is fully supported by VTB and the Postbank it acquired, the press services of these organizations told Izvestia.

The Central Bank's actions are ambiguous: universal QR is beneficial to sellers, but unprofitable for banks, which ultimately determine the development of the payment market, said Sergey Grishunin, managing director of the NRA rating service. Monopolization can slow down the spread of this type of payment — it will be easier for consumers to switch to any other method of paying for purchases and keep participating in bank loyalty programs.

By itself, the regulator's position, which is that only the NSPK should create the code, initially looked like a kind of "market ultimatum," independent expert and economist Andrei Barkhota noted in an interview with Izvestia. Therefore, it is no coincidence that in September 2024, the largest banks formed an association to create an alternative universal QR code - Sberbank, Alfa-Bank and T-Bank joined it. Membership in the association is open and equal for all participants.

The association intends to create a single QR code based on the already existing Multi QR technology - this is the most optimal way for such a service. Banks will not have to create a new infrastructure for it. Such a decision does not mean abandoning one platform or another: the products of NSPK and banks can work in parallel. It is more correct to allow the coexistence of two QR codes, Andrei Barkhota believes.

However, the community of individual market players cannot guarantee equal conditions for all banks, regardless of their size, at uniform tariffs, the regulator's press service told Izvestia earlier. Since then, the position of the Bank of Russia has not changed.

"When we talk about competition, we mean a single competitive field — equal conditions and rules of the game — for all market participants, regardless of their size," the Central Bank said. — The NSPK's solution is a QR code for a universal infrastructure, not a narrow circle of banks. This is exactly the kind of equal and accessible "platform" that allows absolutely all banks to provide services to their customers and compete at the product and service level.

It is important that the universal QR code based on the NSPK ensures the preservation of all existing business models of banks and their tariffs, the regulator stressed. This reduces the additional costs of the participants for integration. In addition, the NSPK will provide universal QR services to banks free of charge.

Will the bill on the universal QR code be adopted

"It turns out that the Central Bank is lobbying for a bill on a universal QR code, while all other parties realize that such a decision poses a serious threat to the competitive state of the payments market," said economist Andrei Barkhota.

The universal QR code from the NSPK, protected from market competition by administrative measures, will lead to the monopolization of this segment of payments, says Yuri Belikov, Managing Director of Expert RA. At the same time, the development of such settlements will freeze, and the investments of the largest banks in their own payment solutions may simply become worthless, Andrei Barkhota added. In addition, participants in the payment market risk losing a significant portion of commission income, agrees Alexander Neporozhny, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Finam Bank. According to him, this will lead to an adjustment in the share price of banks from among public companies.

The Central Bank, in fact, plans to enter the payment market and partially begin providing banking and fintech services, crowding out commercial banks, explained Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global. Market leaders are unhappy with this scenario, as it will damage their position and payment services, in the development of which they have invested a lot of money.

— If the Central Bank of the Russian Federation takes over the function of developing new payment technologies, the market may stagnate, — concluded Natalia Milchakova.

Private companies often allocate resources more quickly and efficiently than government agencies, concluded Alexey Tarapovsky, founder of the Anderida Financial Group. The Russian payment market is one of the most advanced and technologically advanced in the world, so it would be wrong to restrain its development by administrative measures.

Most likely, the Bank of Russia will have to find a compromise with the government, Andrei Barkhota emphasized. The regulator's lobbying resource weakened after the departure of Olga Skorobogatova, the curator of the NSPK, the former first deputy chairman of the Central Bank, at the end of 2024. She was able to defend the concept of payment solutions both in the banking community and in government circles.

In any case, without positive feedback from relevant departments, the initiative will not be able to be finally approved, Andrei Barkhota concluded. The launch of the digital ruble has already been postponed indefinitely, although it was originally planned for July 2025. If the authorities fail to agree on a universal QR code, the start of the project may be delayed even more.