VTB talked about the growth of small business activity in the digital environment

In 2025, VTB's medium and small business clients made more than 170,000 transfers to the self-employed for 12.4 billion rubles. This is 70% higher than last year's figures both in terms of volume and number of operations, said Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President and Chairman of the VTB Management Board, at the final of the Business Battle startup competition in Saransk.

Moscow and St. Petersburg remain the leaders in terms of purchases of goods and services from the self-employed (together 30% of the total volume of transfers). The main customers of goods and services for the self-employed are SMB companies from the fields of construction, trade, transport, IT, sports and entertainment.

"The self-employed have become an indispensable resource for entrepreneurs in solving operational tasks, especially in the areas of seasonal business and when performing irregular work. It is important that, thanks to the banking service, this cooperation is based on transparent legal and financial grounds. For the economy as a whole, this means an increase in legal employment, the introduction of innovations and an increase in the competitiveness of small businesses," said Bortnikov.

Last year, entrepreneurs registered 1.5 times more companies and sole proprietors through VTB's online service than in 2024, Bortnikov said. About a quarter of all new businesses were in Moscow and the Moscow Region, and another 8% were in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. The Krasnodar Territory, the Republic of Tatarstan, the Rostov, Novosibirsk, Sverdlovsk Regions and the Altai Territory are also among the leading regions.

"Digital business registration has ceased to be just an alternative — today it is the main choice of entrepreneurs. They value speed and are not ready to waste time on bureaucracy," Bortnikov stressed. Haute noted that seamless integration with state-owned platforms plays a key role, which makes complex processes invisible to the client. In 2026, the bank plans to continue developing the service, including new and sought-after forms of taxation.

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