Financial marketplaces vs. Yandex: what is the essence of the conflict and what will be the consequences?

The Association of Financial Marketplaces (including <url>, Compare, Finuslugi, Open Financial Marketplace, etc.) has filed a complaint with the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) against Yandex, sources told RBC. According to them, the IT company has changed the principles of search results formation, which is why financial platforms have lost some of their traffic. For more information about the positions of the parties and the prospects for the development of the conflict, see the Izvestia article.

Convenience vs. Traffic

The reason for the appeal was the changes in the Yandex search service. The association noted that the company places an interactive applet in the search results above the organic results, which is similar in functionality to financial marketplaces and allows you to choose a profitable deposit, loan and other banking services. According to the organization, the applet's visibility on banking requests has exceeded 80% since the beginning of 2026. Because of this, users select and compare financial products in Internet search without going to the websites of financial platform operators, which leads to a loss of Internet traffic by financial marketplaces.

The Yandex representative noted that the principles of operation of the enriched responses remain transparent and have not changed.

— We have not received the complaint and are not familiar with its contents. The enriched answers in the search are built according to transparent rules and are available to all partners, including financial platforms. The principles of their work have not changed," he stressed.

Changing consumer behavior

Experts interviewed by Izvestia, however, believe that the drop in traffic to financial marketplaces is quite realistic, but it is impossible to say that the reason for this is definitely Yandex's fault.

"In the case of financial marketplaces, the drop in traffic may be due to various reasons, from people's direct contact with banks to a general cooling of interest in banking services and the difficult situation in the financial marketplace market, but it is important to understand that Internet traffic to marketplaces may depend on many factors,— comments the head of the Public Consumer Initiative (OPI) Oleg Pavlov.

He also stressed that for consumers, search is not a tool for the equal distribution of traffic between sites.

— This is a mechanism that should give a quick and convenient answer: where is the profitable contribution, which loan is cheaper, which conditions are clearer. If the search engine develops comparison formats, condition cards, and quick transitions to financial products, this is useful. The user saves time, gets visual information and does not have to go through several intermediary sites, leaving their personal data there, just because it is convenient for the financial marketplaces themselves," Pavlov said.

The fact that the decline in Russians' interest in financial marketplaces is primarily dictated by the economic situation is also considered by the press service of the Association of Big Data (DB).

— The decline in Russians' interest in financial marketplaces is primarily due to the general economic situation and changes in consumer behavior. The traffic dynamics of such sites is influenced by several factors at once, including the level of the key rate, the attractiveness of banking products, user expectations regarding profitability and, in general, the level of economic uncertainty. Even the beginning of a reduction in the key rate has not yet led to a significant change in the situation, as users need time to adapt to the new conditions in the financial market. At the same time, in the event of further easing of monetary policy, we can expect a gradual stabilization of the audience and a return of sustained interest in the financial topic and digital financial services," the press service of the ADB said.

The data from Wordstat also indicates a drop in Russians' interest in banking products. Over the past year, the average monthly share of requests for loans has fallen by 12%, and for deposits by 6%. The share of deposit requests has also decreased in a number of banks.

Zero effect

Georgy Bagiryan, director of the Electronic Commerce Union and a member of the Public Council at the FAS of Russia, believes that the consequences of the complaint will be minimal for both sides.

— As for financial marketplaces: for them, no matter which side the FAS takes, the situation is unlikely to change in any way. Firstly, they may continue to lose traffic for various reasons. Secondly, they already occupy a fairly stable position in the market. For Yandex, there are unlikely to be any significant consequences here either. In this case, it cannot be unequivocally said that the applicants are right, because the applicants will still have to prove many circumstances, both in terms of the impact of this functionality on their traffic, and in terms of the functionality of search and OFP. Obviously, after the previous proceedings, the company drew conclusions and began to take a more balanced approach to changes in search. But in any case, we need to wait for the FAS response," Bagiryan concluded.

Oraza Durdieva, President of the Association of Digital Platforms, believes that the loss of traffic is unlikely to affect the stable position of financial marketplaces.

— The Yandex applet is user-friendly. It allows you to quickly compare financial products in a familiar ecosystem without going to other sites. This simplifies the search and saves time. At the same time, it is most important for the market to maintain healthy competition. Financial marketplaces earn primarily on transaction fees, so the key indicator is not the volume of traffic, but its quality — users who consciously compare terms and make transactions for significant amounts," commented Durdyeva.

According to Smart Ranking, "Compare.ru" and "Banks.<url> remains in the top 5 fintech companies. In 2025, their revenue increased by 14% and 18%, respectively.

— In the future, the demand for independent financial marketplaces, in our opinion, will only grow. The current government policy to combat over-crediting of the population makes people more responsible in choosing loans and borrowings. Citizens are increasingly using specialized platforms to select optimal conditions and increase the likelihood of application approval. In this situation, it is important for marketplaces to invest in the development of their own functionality first of all: to improve product selection algorithms, personalization of recommendations and user experience. It is the quality of the service that will attract and reliably retain the audience," the expert added.

Artyom Sokolov, president of AKIT, holds a similar position, noting that the functions of a search engine and a financial marketplace differ.:

— Specialized financial platforms are very convenient when you need to understand some points in detail - they come there for answers to specific questions. A search engine is essentially a "first touch" point for people who have an interest in certain topics, in this case financial ones. These digital entities play at different levels of the funnel. In our opinion, since it is quite difficult for most Russians to navigate financial issues, it is very important to develop various tools that help solve such problems," he concluded.

Thus, the conflict over search results reflects a natural stage of digital evolution: the usual pattern of reselling traffic is giving way to a struggle for loyalty and convenience. In conditions of high rates and economic turbulence, the main task of financial aggregators is not just to intercept the user at the exit from the search engine, but to retain him through personalization, deep analytics and unique services. The final point in this dispute will be put by the Federal Antimonopoly Service, but it is already obvious that the winner of the competitive race will not be the platform that collects the most "cold" clicks, but the one that will save consumers time and help them make the most profitable financial decision without unnecessary intermediaries.