Gazprombank, Russia's third-largest bank by assets, said its new GazpromPay wallet will allow users to quickly and securely make payments from their bank cards to online stores. The wallet, expected to debut March 22, will be available on smartphones and other devices, the announcement said.
The sanctions on many major Russian banks have left consumers with cards from those banks unable to use them for many online purchases, nor can they be used with services such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, Russia's central bank noted in an announcement in late February.
The U.S. has imposed a range of sanctions on Russian financial institutions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the European Union shut seven major Russian banks out of the SWIFT messaging system that facilitates global financial transactions.
Gazprombank highlighted its service as a way for consumers to navigate "Russia's dynamically developing retail financial system."
The wallet fits in with Gazprombank's ongoing digitization efforts, Deputy Chairman Dmitry Zauers said in a statement, while acknowledging "the need to invest in the development of such services in Russia today has acquired particular relevance."
Additionally, Russia's biggest lender, Sberbank PJSC, said Thursday it received a license from Russia's central bank to issue and exchange digital assets. The state-owned bank is being sanctioned by the U.S. and the E.U.
The digital-asset platform, which is expected to go live in roughly a month, will allow companies to buy tokens or issue their own assets, among other transactions, according to Sberbank's statement.
Allowing companies to issue digital assets can help them attract investment, while acquiring other assets "will position them to invest their currently idle funds to generate income," the announcement said.
Russia has been working to develop its own central bank digital currency, the digital ruble, but the license marks a turning point in the Bank of Russia's stance on cryptocurrencies.
Just two months ago, the bank advocated for a ban on trading, mining and using cryptocurrency, although it did not suggest banning ownership by private citizens. At the time, the bank argued cryptocurrencies could undercut the national economy and facilitate illegal activity.
"We are just starting our work with digital assets, realizing that further development requires adaptation of the current regulatory framework," Sberbank's director of the transaction business division, Sergey Popov, said in a statement Thursday. "To do that, we are ready to work closely with the regulator and executive bodies."
Some lawmakers have voiced concerns that cryptocurrencies may also be used to help blacklisted Russian entities or individuals evade U.S. sanctions. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., introduced a bill Thursday aimed at bulking up the Biden's administration's sanctions authority in the cryptocurrency space.
The bill faces opposition from the industry and from some Republicans, who argue using cryptocurrency for sanctions evasion on that scale would be impractical, not least because law enforcement capabilities in the space have increased substantially in recent years.
--Additional reporting by Najiyya Budaly. Editing by Lakshna Mehta.
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