Russia has banned cash replenishment of anonymous e-wallets

If the person topping up the wallet has not been identified, the transaction can only be made from a bank account. We are talking about the law adopted on August 2 last year, the purpose of which was to counter illegal income and the financing of terrorism.

The innovation also made it impossible to replenish cash in a number of regions. Those subjects of the Russian Federation, where transport cards are implemented in the form of an electronic wallet, fell under the law. For example, such a system operates in the Moscow region, Oryol, Lipetsk, Novgorod regions, as well as Perm.

Now most of the e-wallets are identified, and the number of those that are anonymous and replenished with cash is insignificant, say payment services polled by TASS. In particular, Yandex.Money notes that the share of anonymous e-wallets that are replenished in cash does not currently exceed 5%. According to Tatiana Milacheva, Director of Marketing Communications at WebMoney Transfer, anonymous wallets are usually used by schoolchildren without a passport and bank account to pay for small purchases, for example, to pay for a phone, or to buy a donation in online games (additional privileges or game currency for a separate fee). “In our opinion, all the main risks that were with anonymous wallets have already been taken into account in the past legislative restrictions. A further decrease in the functionality of this tool will negatively affect its attractiveness for users and businesses, ”the Qiwi press service noted.

It is noted that the ban will not affect public transport passengers in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Chelyabinsk.

Holders of the Troika card in Moscow should not be afraid of the new law - the card is not an electronic means of payment, Kommersant notes with reference to the Moscow Department of Transport.

Earlier it was reported that decisions on fare payments are regulated by several laws at once, and restrictions will affect those constituent entities of the Russian Federation in which payment systems are implemented on the basis of "On the National Payment System".