Electronic payment system QIWI is one of the most recognizable brands in Russia in its market segment. You can use it through offline terminals and a large number of online tools - a web interface or, for example, a mobile application. What are the features of this payment system? How do users comment on her work?
General information
QIWI wallet is a Russian payment system developed by a group of companies of the same name. This financial instrument allows you to make payments and money transfers in the widest range. There are a large number of ways to use a QIWI wallet: through a terminal, through a web interface, or through a mobile application. This payment service allows you to pay utility bills, top up your balance on a cell phone, pay for the Internet, repay loans, buy plane and train tickets - and this, of course, is not an exhaustive list of the service's capabilities.
QIWI wallet is one of the most famous payment systems in the Russian Federation along with such services as Yandex. Money, Webmoney, PayPal. For someAccording to this service, the service in question is the most popular on the Russian market.
In 2012, the payment system merged into a common brand with Visa. QIWI wallet, thanks to this agreement, got the opportunity to issue its own plastic cards, which began to enjoy stable, as many experts note, demand from Russian users. A little later, we will study the specifics of the service, which appeared as a result of the cooperation between QIWI and Visa.
How to use QIWI
Using this financial instrument is simple. It is enough to have a workable SIM-card of any Russian operator. The fact is that the cell phone number is the main payment identifier that the QIWI wallet uses. Registration of a new client of the system is carried out on the website. You need to enter, in fact, the phone number, and then wait for an SMS with a password. You can then change it to your own. As soon as a person registers his QIWI wallet, the account in the account will look the same as, in fact, the mobile number. That is, if someone wants to transfer money to him, then no additional identifiers will be required.
You can top up your QIWI wallet balance in a variety of ways. It is considered traditional to use a branded terminal, which is available in most Russian cities. Also, QIWI has entered into agreements with some partner electronic payment systems that have similar devices at their disposal. The user can replenish the account in the QIWI wallet andwith their help.
Another option is to transfer funds from a bank card. True, it must be linked to the account using the algorithm installed by the system. Entering the number and other required card data through a special interface, you must wait until the system requests confirmation of the corresponding binding with a number equal to the checksum that will be debited from the user's bank account. You can also credit funds to your QIWI balance through the offices of popular mobile phone stores, ATMs of many banks. Users are impressed by the presence of a large number of ways in which you can replenish your QIWI wallet. Customer reviews of the system confirm this.
Now let's find out how you can withdraw money from your QIWI wallet. This can be done by transferring to a bank account, to a card, or using a money transfer system. You can also cash out if the owner of the wallet has a QIWI Visa Plastic card. We will talk about this tool a little later.
QIWI: competitive advantages
What are the most obvious competitive advantages of QIWI wallet over other payment systems? It should be noted that many experts agree that Russian providers of relevant services - at least those that are among the market leaders - offer their users a very similar set of services in general. Some brands, if they are superior to competitors in some way, then almost always there are also shortcomings in their functionality.
If we talk about the strongsides of the payment system in question, many experts note the fact that the QIWI wallet number is identical to the phone number, and it is easier to remember. While many other providers of similar services identify accounts through very long personal account numbers. This played, experts believe, a significant role in winning a leading position in the market, in which the QIWI wallet is located. Feedback from many users confirms this: people admit that they choose this particular payment system because of the ease of identification.
Identity Verification
Due to the peculiarities of Russian legislation, transactions with many online financial instruments require confirmation of the identity of the person who carries out them. The QIWI wallet is no exception. Registration using a cell phone is an insufficient procedure in terms of some legal acts. The user of the system needs to confirm his identity using one of the options offered by the payment system. As a rule, this is due to the provision of QIWI-affiliated services with passport data. A little later, we will study the aspect that reflects the need to verify the identity in the payment system in more detail. Having confirmed his identity, the user gets access to almost all the functions that the QIWI wallet offers. A Visa card, in particular, can be issued subject to successful identification of the service client.
It may be noted, however, that since the requirement to disclose the identity of users of electronicpayment systems is established at the level of federal legislation, all providers of relevant services must bring their functionality in line with it. That is, QIWI, in principle, cannot be more competitive in this respect than other market players.
Company history and business model features
OSMP, which owns the rights to the QIWI brand, entered the market in 2004. However, an independent payment system was formed only in 2008. The following year, after the QIWI brand was introduced to the market, OSMP acquired the assets of another large payment system - E-port. The active expansion of the service in various segments began. In particular, a significant emphasis in the development of the brand was placed on the distribution of offline terminals that accept banknotes.
For a long time, the QIWI electronic wallet could accept payments to be credited to accounts of other systems, such as, for example, Yandex. Money”, RBK-Money, Webtransfer. However, since 2011, direct integration of QIWI and many other payment services has ceased to be carried out. According to one version, this was done in order to minimize competition.
In 2013, users were able to make online microloans through the QIWI electronic wallet. The payment system began to provide this service in cooperation with Platiza, one of the first service providers in Russia in the then-new segment of lending.
The controlling stake in the company belongs to the managementcompanies, including its founder Andrey Romanenko. The share of Mail. Ru Group is significant - it is 21.4%. Also, a part of QIWI shares is owned by the Japanese corporation Mitsui Fudosan. The CEO of QIWI is Sergey Solonin. He reports to the board of directors, the project office and other key divisions of the company.
QIWI and Visa
Let's consider the specifics of the services provided by QIWI together with one of the world's largest processing brands - Visa. As you know, Visa specializes in providing payments through bank cards. Actually, this is the main subject of cooperation between the Russian company and Visa.
QIWI issues plastic cards, and Visa services them. The domestic company got the opportunity to expand the market, and the American company - to strengthen its position in the growing Russian market, including in the field of online payments. Both corporations thus brought to the market a new brand - Visa QIWI Wallet. The wallet, which is accessed via a cell phone, was thus tied to one of the solutions offered by the American company. This is a "digital" Visa card or a full-fledged plastic one. QIWI and Visa also offer an interesting Virtual product. What are the features of using each of the cards?
Cards: digital and plastic
"Digital" card, or QIWI Visa Card, designed to pay for goods and services on the Internet. That is, the user can, by entering her number and other data, pay with online stores, buy plane or train tickets forspecialized sites and make other payments that require a bank card.
In turn, "plastic" from QIWI and Visa is actually a full-fledged bank card. With its help, you can withdraw cash from ATMs, pay in stores - Russian and foreign. Also, using it, you can cash out funds from your wallet through any ATM in Russia and abroad, which is serviced by the Visa system.
QIWI wallet offers its users another interesting tool - QIWI Visa Virtual. This, one might say, is also a “virtual” analogue of a plastic card. Its functionality is basically the same as that of the QIWI Visa Card, but it is not tied to the QIWI user account. The advantage of this product is that it can, for example, be given as a gift.
Note that many other Russian providers of electronic payment solutions have products similar to those discussed above, provided to their users by QIWI. So, for example, Yandex. Wallet owners have the opportunity to use cards issued by a Russian company in cooperation with Visa's main competitor in the processing market, MasterCard. Just like in the case of QIWI, Yandex has "virtual" and full-fledged plastic cards.
Thus, thanks to the partnership with VISA, the Russian system offers users almost all the main payment instruments that are presentedon the market today - online interfaces, terminals, as well as bank cards. However, QIWI partnerships continue to expand. One of the illustrative examples is the cooperation of the electronic payment system with MegaFon. Let's explore the details of this partnership.
QIWI and MegaFon
Among the latest news on the Russian electronic payment market is the creation by two Russian brands of a common product based on the QIWI wallet and the MegaFon. Money . As evidenced by data from a number of sources, it took the companies a long time to reach the relevant agreement. Before launching a joint project, the companies agreed on technical details for about a year. The result is a product that, according to some experts, has no analogues on the Russian market yet.
The unified e-wallet opens up a wide range of possibilities for making electronic payments for MegaFon subscribers. In principle, we can say that almost all the tools that a QIWI wallet has become available to the operator's clients. At the same time, you can make a payment using the balance on your account - this is the specificity of the new product. Another noteworthy aspect of using the combined service, experts call the payment of remuneration to MegaFon subscribers for making payments. They are credited to the user's balance. Their value is 0.5% of the amount of the payment, if it is not a payment for the services of mobile operators. Another condition for bonus accrual is that the payment must be related to those for which the system does nottakes a commission. This opportunity, offered by MegaFon and the QIWI wallet, received extremely positive feedback from users and experts.
The service interface allows a MegaFon subscriber to see their balance, replenish it, and also transfer funds to the accounts of friends and relatives. At the same time, you can set up an option in which the balance of other people will also be visible to the user: for this, a person must send a request to his friend, and he must confirm his consent to providing personal account details. This is convenient if, for example, parents want their children's phone balance to be under control. It is expected that soon QIWI and MegaFon will also launch a card product.
News in the law
We noted above that Russian legislation strictly regulates electronic payments made on the territory of the Russian Federation. At the same time, as some experts note, the relevant aspect of lawmaking tends to gradually tighten. For example, a draft law was recently submitted to the State Duma, providing for a reduction in the maximum amount of electronic transfer between users whose identity has not been confirmed to 1,000 rubles. While now this value is 15 thousand rubles. The draft law also contains a wording according to which the maximum amount of funds placed on the account of the electronic payment system cannot exceed 5 thousand rubles, if, accordingly, the user has not confirmed his identity. Now this value is also 15 thousand rubles.
This legislative initiative, according to many experts, was a factor in the sharp drop in QIWI quotes on the NASDAQ in January 2015. Thus, during one of the trading sessions, the indices of a Russian company decreased by more than 19%. Significantly shares of QIWI declined on the MICEX - by 7%. Top managers of the Russian payment system in the comments of the media expressed the hope that the bill will still be finalized in favor of softening the wording. Or, for example, the relevant legal act will provide for the possibility of a simplified procedure for verifying the identity of users in comparison with the current scheme. The QIWI leadership also expressed their readiness to send their representatives to participate in the working group on this issue.
Opinion of users
What do Russian users say when using QIWI wallet? Reviews of the company's customers who had experience with this payment system are generally positive. For the most part, they are satisfied with the services provided to them. In particular, in a positive way, people say that it is quite easy to transfer funds to a QIWI wallet - this can be done both through the terminal and through a bank card.
Praise the system for the solutions implemented jointly with Visa. Particularly convenient users call the "digital" version of the payment card, which is called QIWI Visa Card. In particular, it is positively noted that it is replenished without a commission through fairly common terminals. QIWI wallet, as users believe, allows you to pay for the mainvolume of daily services, and it is very rarely necessary to find other means of payment or go to the bank in order to make the necessary payment.
Noted for the high quality of technical support. In particular, many users had problems with incorrect crediting of funds to their account. In most cases, such situations were resolved very quickly with the assistance of the support service.
Among the shortcomings of the system, noted by users, is the fact that many services can be paid for by a QIWI wallet, subject to a relatively high commission. Also, many QIWI customers believe that it would be useful for the company to expand its partner network: in many third-party systems, it is not possible to replenish the account of the largest Russian provider of electronic payment services.
