- Статьи
- Economy
- Lobby and share: Nabiullina urged to deal with banks' attempts to put pressure on competitors
Lobby and share: Nabiullina urged to deal with banks' attempts to put pressure on competitors
The cancellation of discounts on marketplaces is aimed at the administrative suppression of competition, which can directly affect the standard of living of Russians. Sergei Mironov, the leader of the Fair Russia faction, addressed such a warning to the head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina. The State Duma believes that the regulator should analyze the consequences of implementing unilateral proposals from the largest financial organizations and develop business-friendly rules that will not infringe on consumer rights. The reason for the disagreement is the rapidly growing marketplace banks, which financial market leaders want to eliminate as competitors, experts say. Izvestia dealt with the new round of the heated confrontation.
Why canceling discounts threatens competition
The head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, is asked to prevent the suppression of competition and the increase in the cost of goods that may occur after the cancellation of discounts on marketplaces. Sergei Mironov, the head of the Fair Russia faction, sent a letter with such an appeal to the head of the regulator. In the document, which Izvestia has, he states the need to avoid solutions in which new forms of economic activity were suppressed, depriving consumers of benefits, and market participants and the economy of incentives for innovation and development.
The discussion on the cancellation of discounts on marketplaces began on November 18 at the Central Bank's "Customer Focus" forum. On it, the head of the Savings Bank, German Gref, accused Internet sites of unfair competition. According to him, this year alone they have underpaid taxes by 1.5 trillion rubles. The head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, agreed at the same forum that the discounts that the 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 the Cabinet of Ministers, the State Duma, 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 of affiliated banks.
"The proposed measures may be aimed at administratively suppressing one of the important tools of competition and the development of digital commerce — investments in a flexible pricing policy that is beneficial to consumers," the deputy said in an address to the head of the Central Bank.
He also stressed that the Russians are the most interested party in maintaining a high level of competition between the participants. It is thanks to discounts and promotions that millions of consumers get access to a wide range of high-quality goods at affordable prices, said Sergey Mironov.
"In conditions of limited real incomes of the population and rising costs for households, such price optimization mechanisms have not only economic but also social significance, directly affecting the standard and quality of life," the deputy said.
In this regard, Sergey Mironov called on the Central Bank to develop balanced and understandable rules of fair competition, ensuring consumer protection and the stability of the financial system as a whole. He also asks Elvira Nabiullina to instruct her to analyze the potential consequences of implementing unilateral proposals from the largest banks for the competitive environment, the development of the digital economy and the inadmissibility of a significant increase in prices for goods and services for citizens.
— Today, not only marketplaces have discounts, bonuses, and loyalty programs, but also offline stores and banks. But online platforms began to develop their banks. Such competition has got in the way of the banking lobby," Sergei Mironov explained the reason for the situation to Izvestia.
According to him, the most important thing in this matter is the interests of citizens, which should be a priority for the Central Bank.
— Against the background of rising inflation and exorbitant loan rates, the population needs affordable goods at low prices. And it's not for banks to ban discounts," the deputy said, calling on credit institutions to develop their loyalty programs, as well as expand benefits and bonuses.
At the same time, Alexey Guznov, Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia, said on November 25 that the activities of marketplaces were beginning to have an impact on Russia's financial stability, so it was necessary to adjust their regulation in terms of consumer protection and competition. He recalled that a rather heated discussion around the activities of marketplaces unfolded back in the spring of this year, when the bill on the platform economy was discussed. The Central Bank has sent its proposals on this issue to the Ministry of Economic Development, the representative of the regulator said. They address the issues of providing financial products on digital platforms and their systemic impact on the financial market.
— We are not in favor of introducing any bans. We are saying that platforms should display prices for goods, regardless of which payment services or which bank they use. In other words, it should be a separate dialogue between the platform and its client, and between the bank that provides and provides financial services and the client who uses these services," said Alexey Guznov.
Izvestia sent a request to the Central Bank with a request to comment on whether Sergei Mironov's proposal would be taken into account when developing a solution.
What is the threat of canceling discounts on marketplaces?
The changes under discussion will affect all aspects of the platform economy, but above all they will worsen the situation of tens of millions of consumers, the press service of the combined company Wildberries& Russ told Izvestia.
— And it is quite natural that the initiative to limit discounts cannot but worry the deputies. We fully share Sergey Mironov's position aimed at protecting citizens, the principle of justice and fair competition. We hope that with the help of the Central Bank, the government, deputies and senators, we will be able to move from uncompetitive offers from banks to limit discounts to a constructive market dialogue.
Earlier, Wildberries founder Tatiana Kim issued an open letter to the government, the State Duma, the Federation Council and the Central Bank. In it, she called the requirement for marketplaces to cancel discounts an attempt to get rid of competitors, pointing out that all banks have the opportunity to offer benefits to their customers on marketplaces, but only a few do this because, according to her, it is unprofitable for them to do this: "After all, in fact, they will invest in the growth of turnover." our platform."
— We are not familiar with the content of the deputies' appeal. But it has already been stated that the previously proposed bans on discounts and loyalty programs of marketplaces by five banks will cause prices to rise for 85 million buyers of platforms, primarily in small towns and villages where more than 50 million people live and the availability of goods outside online is extremely low, the Ozon press service told Izvestia.
The company added that the marketplace opened its loyalty program based on the principles of equal access in October 2025 and is currently negotiating with 20 interested banks to provide customers across the country with even more benefits in purchases.
As Izvestia wrote, the reason for the conflict between banks and marketplaces was the use of their systems by Internet sites, to which they attract consumers with a discount system. For example, it will be more expensive to buy goods on Wildberries or Ozon today with payment by a regular bank card than through the payment systems of the marketplaces themselves. The discount, as an industry source explained to the editorial board, is achieved due to the fact that online platforms have a very low - close to zero — transaction cost, while for financial organizations it can reach several percent or higher. However, marketplaces, unlike banks, actually share this commission with the buyer, so they have more and more customers, as well as money in circulation.
— Banks are well aware that they also have discounts, which they are silent about in this case, since their main task now is to reduce competition with rapidly growing marketplaces. For example, Ozon-bank is developing at such a pace that it is already among the top 30 banks. Why would they need such a competitor? — said Georgy Ostapkovich, Scientific Director of the Center for Economic Studies at the Higher School of Economics.
The current rules on marketplaces, which imply discounts for choosing payment methods from platform banks, do not violate consumer rights, Anton Nedzvetsky, a member of the Public Council at Rospotrebnadzor and head of the Moscow Consumer Protection Society, told Izvestia.
— Of course, there are no violations of the applicable regulations either when choosing to pay with a card or wallet on the marketplace, or with any other loyalty program that this marketplace provides to the customer. Rospotrebnadzor has previously explained that the discount to customers when paying with a certain payment instrument complies with the law and does not infringe on the rights of buyers," the social activist noted.
In his opinion, marketplaces do not discriminate against other financial market players and provide consumers with different payment methods, including bank cards. If we talk about discounts when choosing your own payment method for the site, these are elements of legal marketing strategies, including the popularization of non-cash payments, emphasized Anton Nedzvetsky.
He also drew attention to the fact that loyalty programs and discounts are a common form of attracting consumers not only on marketplaces, but also in other industries such as banking, retail, and real estate. This is one of the ways of healthy competition, in which the consumer directly benefits, the social activist believes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
