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- Non-free cash register: The State Duma is asking the authorities to assess the risks of price increases due to the cancellation of discounts on marketplaces.
Non-free cash register: The State Duma is asking the authorities to assess the risks of price increases due to the cancellation of discounts on marketplaces.
The government is being asked to assess the risks of rising product prices due to the possible cancellation of discounts on marketplaces. Yaroslav Nilov, head of the State Duma Committee on Social Policy, has already prepared an appeal to the Cabinet of Ministers, in which he calls the topic raised by banks "socially sensitive." The likely price increase as a result of the controversial initiative may exceed 10%. Deputies are already receiving letters from citizens asking them to do everything so that the discounts are not canceled. Izvestia understood what the confrontation between online platforms and large financial organizations, which want to ban a number of discounts on marketplaces, could lead to.
Why does the topic of discounts affect millions of Russians
The State Duma is asking the authorities to assess the risks of rising prices for goods due to the possible cancellation of discounts on marketplaces. As Izvestia found out, such requests to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Economic Development were prepared by Yaroslav Nilov, head of the Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans' Affairs.
— We see that an increasing number of citizens are buying goods on marketplaces today. The reasons for this are the convenience of delivery and, most importantly, the price and visual discounts that are not available in offline stores. Therefore, requests have been prepared to the ministries so that they, firstly, express their position, and secondly, assess the possible price increase that may occur after the cancellation of discounts," Yaroslav Nilov explained to Izvestia.
It is clear that banks have their own commercial interests, the parliamentarian noted. But the interests of citizens are still more important, especially since the initiative appeared on the eve of the New Year holidays.
"In the current economic situation, the cancellation of discounts will obviously be a socially sensitive issue," the deputy believes. — Moreover, consumers mostly buy everyday goods there. Often, these are people with low incomes who cannot afford expensive stores. The final price of a particular product is important to them.
The discussion of the possible cancellation of discounts began on November 18 at the Bank of Russia's "Customer Focus" forum. On it, the head of the Savings Bank, German Gref, accused marketplaces of unfair competition and working "at a loss and at the expense of the state." According to him, online platforms have underpaid taxes by 1.5 trillion rubles this year.
The head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, agreed at the same forum that the discounts that platforms give when paying for purchases with their bank cards are "not entirely fair competition." In her opinion, the price should not be different depending on which payment method is chosen by the consumer.
On November 20, it became known that the heads of Sberbank, VTB, T-Bank, Alfa-Bank and Sovcombank sent a letter to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, as well as to the Central Bank, the Federation Council and the presidential Administration addressed to Maxim Oreshkin with a proposal to prohibit marketplaces from applying discounts when paying for goods with cards affiliated with the number of banks.
Credit organizations consider this practice to be unfair and advocate that the price be the same when paying for purchased goods with a bank card. The document contains two proposals. First, to oblige marketplaces to "set a single price (and not reduce it by providing discounts) when paying for goods on digital platforms," regardless of which electronic means of payment (bank card) is used for payment. Secondly, to prohibit marketplaces from "investing in lower prices of goods."
Later, the banks clarified their position, saying that they advocate discounts on digital platforms, but only without reference to which card the consumer pays for the goods.
The State Duma has already received appeals from citizens who ask to keep discounts, says Yana Lantratova, head of the Committee for the Development of Civil Society, Public and Religious Associations.
— The discussion around discounts on marketplaces worries tens of millions of Russians who buy essential goods online. Some residents of our country simply have no other way but to buy clothes for themselves, their children, and elderly parents through online platforms," the parliamentarian explained to Izvestia.
According to her, there are localities where people have not seen a single bank branch, shopping mall, or even a chain store, but there is a pick-up point for well-known marketplaces. The worry is that the most vulnerable segments of the population will inevitably become the collateral victims of this "war," Yana Lantratova believes.
— I'm ready to support marketplaces, because I don't understand why banks are meddling outside their field of activity. Maybe they just lose profits and customers who leave them for the banking structures of online platforms? But marketplaces don't interfere with banks," Nikolai Arefyev, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, said in a conversation with Izvestia.
According to him, if now, in conditions of inflation and an unfavorable economic situation, some organizations are making discounts to the public, then this is a positive phenomenon.
Sergei Mironov, the head of the Fair Russia faction, is also against the ban on discounts. In his opinion, vulnerable segments of the population will suffer from this, as prices for goods will inevitably rise.
— Today, every Russian family saves about 50 thousand rubles a year on average due to discounts. But now there is a risk that they will have to overpay for the most sought—after goods," said Sergey Mironov.
He also believes that the authorities should take into account the interests of consumers, not banks, when making any decisions.
Izvestia sent requests to the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade with a request to give their assessment of the initiative to cancel discounts on marketplaces.
What is the reason for the conflict between banks and marketplaces?
The reason for the conflict between banks and marketplaces, according to a source from Izvestia in the industry, was the use of online platforms by their banking systems, to which they attract consumers with a discount system. For example, it will be more expensive to buy goods on Wildberries or Ozon using a regular bank card today than through the payment systems of the marketplaces themselves. The discount, the source explained, is achieved due to the fact that online platforms have a very low - close to zero — transaction cost, while for banks it can reach several percent or more. However, marketplaces, unlike banks, actually "share" this commission with the buyer, so they have more and more customers, as well as money in circulation.
This is indirectly confirmed by the marketplaces themselves, indicating that banks today do not provide customers with cashbacks for purchases on online platforms.
— Banks' attempts to justify that they only advocate equal access to marketplaces and the expansion of discount programs to a large audience are deceit. Firstly, the letter sent to the State Duma and made publicly available explicitly states a complete ban on any loyalty programs on marketplaces," the press service of the Combined Wildberries&Rus Company told Izvestia. — Secondly, banks can already provide cashbacks to their customers for payments on marketplaces, but they do not do this, the company stressed.
At the same time, they noted that thanks to discounts from marketplaces, every Russian family saves 55 thousand rubles a year. Wildberries&Russ added that discounts are funded by the marketplaces themselves, noting that according to expert estimates, banning discounts will lead to a 15-20% price increase and acceleration of inflation.
— Five banks in their letter very clearly articulated a proposal to ban any discounts, bonuses and cashbacks on marketplaces in principle. This will raise prices for at least 85 million residents of the country and restrain the growth of businesses of hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs, the Ozon press service told Izvestia.
They also noted that such rhetoric suggests that the demands of the five banks are aimed only at limiting popular digital platforms, which will worsen conditions for residents of the country and reduce the availability of goods. At the same time, banks themselves constantly promote their cashbacks without providing them, for example, when paying through the SBP, representatives of the marketplace indicated.
— In October 2025, Ozon openly announced to the banking market an offer to participate in our open loyalty program on equal terms and invest in direct benefits for tens of millions of Russians, making prices even more attractive for them. 17 banks are already discussing this possibility with us in the format of a very constructive dialogue," the company added.
They are more restrained in their assessments of the situation at Yandex.Market. The company noted that they are ready to discuss with the regulator and market participants possible formats for regulating the discount policy of digital platforms. Our common task is to find a balanced approach that will support the development of trade in the interests of buyers and sellers, but at the same time will not limit competition, a representative of the platform told Izvestia.
Should we expect price increases in case of cancellation of discounts
If the discounts are canceled, prices will rise immediately, and ordinary customers will lose out from this, Georgy Ostapkovich, research director of the HSE Center for Economic Research and Economic Analysis, told Izvestia. According to him, instead it would be more correct to allow all banks to work on marketplaces, but at the same time, of course, they will have to start providing discounts to their customers on the same terms as marketplaces do.
"It's just that banks are afraid of competition with marketplaces," says the expert, who predicts an increase in prices for the amount of excellent discounts — up to about 35%.
Major businessmen also joined the discussion of the situation.
"Watching the struggle between bonded banks and marketplaces (WB and Ozon), two economies of different types, I would like to tell banks: stop crying about discounts that are given to the population in the marketplace, just give discounts on mortgages, car loans, leasing, all kinds of bank fees and other bonded products, and that's it. the clients will be yours," businessman Oleg Deripaska wrote on his blog, echoing Ostapkovich's position.
According to him, he sees nothing wrong with marketplace banks and believes that some of the citizens' deposits, which amount to tens of trillions of rubles, will smoothly flow into Ozon and WB banks, which will finance the production of their main suppliers and consumers.
"This will certainly be a strong tool in the fight against inflation. And we will finally be able to launch the so-called supply-side economy, which the Russian president has repeatedly asked for," Oleg Deripaska believes.
The issue of creating transparent, non-discriminatory conditions for access of various participants in the retail and banking markets to the largest loyalty programs is now very relevant, and this applies to both marketplace loyalty programs, as well as banking (for example, "Thank You") or ecosystem (for example, "Its advantages"), Infoline Analytics CEO Mikhail told Izvestia. Burmistrov.
According to him, now some platforms have already opened access for any banks to their loyalty programs, so it would be logical for this practice to be used by banks and ecosystems, and for the conditions of access to programs to be transparent and non-discriminatory. The expert also considers it logical that a unified approach to providing discounts and cashbacks should be used in retail, marketplaces and the banking sector.
— The consumer community strongly opposes the prohibition of discounts on marketplaces and other digital ecosystems. The reason for such an attack on discounts lies solely in the financial benefits of the largest banking organizations, which are trying to destroy competition by their actions," said Anton Nedzvetsky, chairman of the Moscow Society for Consumer Protection. — After all, they themselves offer products to citizens that imply discounts if a person uses their services.
According to the expert, the banks' proposal to introduce a "single price" is, in fact, a requirement to legislate the inefficient and most expensive pricing model.
— If the marketplace is obliged to set a "single price", it will be forced to include in it the maximum level of costs, which arise primarily due to the high commission for acquiring the banks themselves, - he explained. — As a result, this will inevitably affect prices, and consumers, instead of saving and using more profitable savings and marketplace cards will have to be guaranteed to overpay.
The implementation of the ban on discounts from marketplaces, the Izvestia interlocutor added, could also lead to a jump in inflation due to rising prices for the main categories of consumer goods in the region of 15% in 2026, which does not meet the policy of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation to contain it.
— It is necessary to understand that when banks or marketplaces talk about infringing on consumer rights in the context of providing discounts, in fact, neither of them pursue the goal of caring for consumers. Both categories primarily defend their own business interests. The same online platforms use discounts as a tool to conquer the market," Artur Gafarov, head of the Institute for the Development of Entrepreneurship and Economics, told Izvestia.
At the same time, according to him, so far a complete ban on discounts for marketplaces looks unlikely. After all, such tools — for example, in the form of loyalty programs and special promotions - are used by both banks and retailers. But there may be certain limitations for online platforms in the future, the expert believes.
— In this case, we can expect a slight increase in the cost of goods on average across the assortment matrix of marketplaces, but no more than 5-10%, — says Artur Gafarov.
However, in his opinion, even in this scenario, marketplaces are likely to find another way to reduce the price of goods.
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