WebMoney

Last updated
WebMoney Transfer
Company typeOnline payment solution
FoundedNovember 1998;25 years ago (1998-11) in Moscow [1] [2]
HeadquartersMoscow, Russia [3]
ServicesOnline payments, Payment processor
Parent WebMoney Transfer Ltd [4]
Website Official website

WebMoney is an online payment settlement system established in Russia in 1998. [1] [5] It is one of the largest electronic payments processors in Russia by number of users, [6] [7] with the company reporting 45 million registered accounts and 300,000 active weekly users in early 2020, [8] and 100,000 stores accepting payments via the system. WebMoney is owned and operated by WM Transfer Ltd. [9]

Contents

Service

WebMoney users' funds are stored in a "purse", which holds electronic money corresponding to an underlying asset, such as a currency. [2] The underlying assets for WebMoney units are held by a global network of companies that act as guarantors for the payment system. [10] Guarantors accept deposits in the underlying assets and issue the corresponding WebMoney units. [11] WebMoney Transfer can be used for peer-to-peer payments, and includes an escrow system. It charges 0.8% of the transacted amount in fees, up to a maximum fee of €50.

WebMoney provides an application called WebMoney Keeper for using their payments services, for Microsoft Windows, [12] Windows Phone, Android, iOS, and Blackberry. [13] [10] In 2006, security researcher Kris Kaspersky criticised WebMoney Keeper Classic for Windows, as it installed a low-level device driver that allowed direct access to the I/O ports and accessed the hard disk directly using ATA commands instead of via the operating system. [14]

History

The company was founded in November 1998 in Russia [5] as a money transfer system for United States dollars, in the wake of the 1998 Russian financial crisis that had led to increased US dollar use in Russia. [1] [2]

In November 2015, WebMoney Europe Ltd, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, was granted an FCA licence to issue e-money within the European Economic Area. [15] On 01-01-2021, the company terminated its agreements with all WebMoney EUR wallet holders as a result of Brexit. [16]

In 2019, Sberbank said that WebMoney had joined its instant transfer ecosystem, allowing clients to make instant transfers from Sberbank cards to WebMoney purses and vice versa. The recipient’s phone number (which the card or purse is tied to) is needed to transfer funds. [17]

In March 2019, the international settlement system WebMoney introduced a video identification system for customers, which allows you to verify your identity remotely. [18]

The WebMoney Transfer system offered the solution of accepting payments via QR code for restaurants and shops. Customers need to scan a QR code displayed on the cash till screen and confirm the payment. In 2019, Burger King Russia has partnered with WebMoney Transfer to integrate QR code payments for customers. [19]

On February 11, 2022, the Central Bank of Russian Federation revoked the license of KKB Bank JSC, the guarantor and the settlement bank for WebMoney's Russian ruble wallets, freezing WebMoney's funds on KKB's accounts. [20] [21]

In Ukraine

In June 2013, the Ukrainian government seized computer equipment from the Ukrainian guarantor and froze ₴60 million (US$7.5 million) of funds residing on guarantor's accounts in Ukraine, causing Ukrainian WebMoney transactions to be blocked. Officials of the Ministry of Revenues and Duties of Ukraine said that there were major irregularities in the operations of the company acting as the Ukrainian guarantor, and that the rules of the operation of the payment system were not agreed with the National Bank of Ukraine. [22] [23] [24] The ministry described WebMoney as an "illegal system" that was suspected of being used for money laundering and tax evasion, and the central bank said that WebMoney did not have a licence to operate in Ukraine. [25] WebMoney transactions resumed in Ukraine the following week. [25]

In March 2015, the Ukrainian guarantor's bank accounts were released after a court ruling. Later that year, the National Bank of Ukraine [26] and the State Savings Bank of Ukraine [27] partnered with WebMoney.UA.

In May 2018, the National Bank of Ukraine has abolished the registration of the inner-state payment system WebMoney.UA (the subsidiary of 'Financing company ElMI', Kyiv) as it was put on the sanctions list of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile payment</span> Payment services via a mobile device

Mobile payment, also referred to as mobile money, mobile money transfer and mobile wallet, is any of various payment processing services operated under financial regulations and performed from or via a mobile device. Instead of paying with cash, cheque, or credit card, a consumer can use a payment app on a mobile device to pay for a wide range of services and digital or hard goods. Although the concept of using non-coin-based currency systems has a long history, it is only in the 21st century that the technology to support such systems has become widely available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sberbank</span> Russian bank

PJSC Sberbank is a Russian majority state-owned banking and financial services company headquartered in Moscow. It was called Sberbank of Russia until 2015. Sberbank has operations in several European nations, primarily post-Soviet countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skrill</span> E-commerce payment business

Skrill is part of Paysafe Limited, a global payments platform. It is one of Paysafe's digital wallet brands and was established in 2001 to offer multiple online payment and money transfer services. Skrill operates in more than 100 countries with the digital wallet offered in more than 40 currencies. The company facilitates multiple payment options including card payments, bank transfers and local payment methods. The funds in a Skrill account can then be used to pay merchants and other Skrill users or converted into cryptocurrency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PrivatBank</span> Largest Ukrainian commercial bank

PrivatBank is the largest Ukrainian bank in terms of assets and the leader of Ukrainian retail banking market. It was registered on 19 March 1992. PrivatBank was one of the first to introduce modern digital banking and unique technological solutions in Ukraine, allowing customers to use the bank`s services online in the Privat24 app.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NETS (company)</span> Singaporean electronic payment service provider

Network for Electronic Transfers, colloquially known as NETS, is a Singaporean electronic payment service provider. Founded in 1986 by a consortium of local banks, it aims to establish the debit network and drive the adoption of electronic payments in Singapore. It is owned by DBS Bank, OCBC Bank and United Overseas Bank (UOB).

Neteller is a global payments platform and digital wallet used to transfer money to and from merchants, such as forex trading brokers, social networks, and gambling websites. Users in the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom can add a Net+ Mastercard to their account to pay with their balance in stores or withdraw it as cash from ATMs. Regardless of their location, users can transfer their balance to their own bank accounts or cards if they need to withdraw the funds from their account.

The National Payments Corporation of India is an organization that operates retail payments and settlement systems in India. The organization is an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, for creating a robust Payment & Settlement Infrastructure in India.

Boku, Inc. is a mobile payments company that allows businesses to collect online payments through both carrier billing and mobile wallets, and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Boku utilizes mobile network operator (carrier) data to enhance the security and user experience for consumers online. Boku offers its customers more than 330+ mobile payment types in over 90 countries globally, offering a bank-grade payment system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Payoneer</span> Financial services company

Payoneer Global Inc. is an American financial services company that provides online money transfer, digital payment services and provides customers with working capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easypaisa</span> Pakistani mobile wallet service

Easypaisa is a Pakistani mobile wallet, mobile payments and branchless banking services provider. It was founded in October 2009 by Telenor Pakistan. It also provides digital payment services through a QR code in partnership with Masterpass and it is the only GSMA mobile money certified service in Pakistan. 

Paysafe Limited is a multinational online payments company. Paysafe offers payment processing, digital wallet and online cash solutions to businesses and consumers, with particular experience of serving the global entertainment sectors. The group offers services both under the Paysafe brand and subsidiary brands that have become part of the group through several mergers and acquisitions, most notably Neteller, Skrill, SafetyPay, PagoEfectivo, Paysafecash and paysafecard.

YooMoney branded as ЮMoney, formerly known as Yandex.Money, is Russia's second largest electronic payment service after "Sberbank Online" according to a 2020 research by Mediascope. It is an online payment service that works with two types of clients — individual users and merchants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qiwi</span> Russian electronic payment service

QIWI plc is a Russian company that provides payment and financial services in Russia and CIS countries. The group includes QIWI payment system, QIWI Bank, CONTACT money transfer system, Factoring PLUS, Flocktory, and RealWeb. The company has representative offices in three countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mir (payment system)</span> Russian payment system

Mir is a Russian card payment system for electronic fund transfers established by the Central Bank of Russia under a law adopted on 1 May 2017. The system was developed by Belgian digital payments company OpenWay and is operated by the Russian National Card Payment System, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Central Bank of Russia. Mir does not itself issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers; rather, Mir provides financial institutions with Mir-branded payment products that they then use to offer credit, debit, or other programs to their customers. The development and implementation of Mir was spurred by the imposition of international sanctions against Russia in 2014 to circumnavigate the reliance on the likes of Visa and Mastercard, which were blocked in Russia at the time. Mir created its own digital wallet for contactless payments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PayU</span> Fintech company that provides payment solutions to online merchants.

PayU is a Netherlands-based payment service provider to online merchants. The company was founded in 2002, and is headquartered in Hoofddorp. It allows online businesses to accept and process payments through payment methods that can be integrated with web and mobile applications. As of 2018, the service is available in 17 countries. The firm is owned by the Naspers Group, which also owns a stake in one of its sister companies, Tencent.

QR code payment is a contactless payment method where payment is performed by scanning a QR code from a mobile app. This is an alternative to doing electronic funds transfer at point of sale using a payment terminal. This avoids a lot of the infrastructure traditionally associated with electronic payments such as payment cards, payment networks, payment terminal and merchant accounts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faster Payment System</span> Real-time gross settlement payment system in Hong Kong

Faster Payment System is a real-time gross settlement payment system in Hong Kong that connects traditional banks and electronic payment and digital wallet operators. Users are able to perform instant money transfer or make payment to merchants by using the recipient's phone number, e-mail or QR code that contains the user's numeric identifier. Using the "traditional way" of full name and account number to make interbank transfer is also allowed.

Yandex.Checkout is a Russian online payment system operated by Yandex.Money, a joint venture of Russian technology corporation Yandex and the largest bank in Russia Sberbank. Yandex.Checkout was launched in late 2013. Yandex.Checkout has been the most popular payment application in Russia since 2015. By the end of 2018, the service was used by over 106,000 websites around the globe, including major online retailers and government services portals, totaling for over 31% of online payment processing market in Russia by 2018.

GCash is a Filipino mobile payments service owned and operated by Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc., and operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary, G-Xchange, Inc.

vcash Defunct Malaysian e-wallet service

vcash was a Malaysian digital wallet and online payment platform established in Shah Alam in November 2017, by Digi Telecommunications, a subsidiary of Telenor Group. vcash allowed users to make payments in local stores via a QR code, pay bills, top-up prepaid mobile phones, and do P2P transfers. Despite being a Digi product, user registration and usage of this service was opened to both Digi and non-Digi customers. Its competitors were GrabPay, Touch 'n Go eWallet, and Axiata's Boost. On 1 November 2019, Digi announced they were discontinuing vcash on 30 November 2019, two years after its launch, which were attributed to stiff competition from competitors that provide rewards to their users to retain customers in their services.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ghernaouti, Solange (2016-04-19). "Chapter 8: The Cybercriminal's Toolkits". Cyber Power: Crime, Conflict and Security in Cyberspace. CRC Press. p. 248. ISBN   9781466573055.
  2. 1 2 3 Mullan, Philip Carl (2014). "WebMoney Transfer". The Digital Currency Challenge: Shaping Online Payment Systems through US Financial Regulations. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN   9781137382559.
  3. ↑ "Company Overview of WM Transfer Ltd". Bloomberg News . Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  4. ↑ "WebMoney Owner and Administrator". WebMoney. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  5. 1 2 Muel, Melisande, ed. (2011-11-14). "Exclusive Interview: Vladimir Sharko, Director, International Business Development, WebMoney Transfer". The Paypers. Archived from the original on 2016-08-10. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  6. ↑ "TNS Studies the Popularity of E-Money in Russia". Yandex.Money . 2014-05-29. Archived from the original on 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  7. ↑ "WebMoney Europe: We are not just an e-wallet, we create the environment for doing business online". Banks.eu. Archived from the original on 2016-04-26. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
  8. ↑ "WebMoney Statistics". WebMoney. 2020-05-29. Archived from the original on 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  9. ↑ "WebMoney Owner and Administrator". WebMoney. Archived from the original on 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  10. 1 2 Mullan, Philip Carl (2016). A History of Digital Currency in the United States: New Technology in an Unregulated Market. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 252–259. ISBN   9781137568700.
  11. ↑ Finberg, Ron (2013-06-19). "Is WebMoney the Next Liberty Reserve?". Archived from the original on 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
  12. ↑ "Keeper WinPro (Classic)". WebMoney. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  13. ↑ "Keeper Mobile". WebMoney. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  14. ↑ Kaspersky, Kris (2006-10-01). "Голая правда о WebMoney" [The Naked Truth About WebMoney]. Hacker. No. 94. pp. 62–68. Archived from the original on 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  15. ↑ Finextra (2015-11-17). "WebMoney gets European e-money license". Finextra Research. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  16. ↑ "WME EU License Notice". 2020-10-29.
  17. ↑ "Sberbank customers can now transfer money from their cards using recipient phone number". Finextra Research. 2019-02-22. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  18. ↑ "WebMoney запускает систему идентификации клиентов по видео". profile.ru.
  19. ↑ "Burger King, WebMoney team up for QR code payment solution". www.thepaypers.com. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  20. ↑ "WebMoney halts operations with Russian wallets from February 11". TASS. 2022-02-11. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  21. ↑ "The Central Bank revoked the license of the Astrakhan bank "KKB"". AK&M Information Agency. 2022-02-11. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  22. ↑ "UAH 60 mln of Ukrainians blocked in WebMoney by tax authorities". QHA. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  23. ↑ Dixon, Julia. "Ukraine freezes WebMoney bank accounts". DGC Magazine.
  24. ↑ "WebMoney Ukraine says tax evasion charges are 'absurd'". Russian Legal Information Agency. 2013-06-14. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  25. 1 2 "WebMoney says Ukrainian arm resumes transactions". Interfax-Ukraine . Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  26. ↑ "Внутрішньодержавні платіжні системи та міжнародні платіжні системи, платіжними організаціями яких є резиденти". National Bank of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 2015-05-21. Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
  27. ↑ Karpus, Vadim (2015-06-18). ""Ощадбанк" стал партнёром Webmoney.UA (Oschadbank has become WebMoney.UA's partner)". ITC.ua (in Russian). Hotline LLC. Archived from the original on 2017-09-02. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  28. ↑ National Bank of Ukraine excludes WebMoney from register of inner-state payment systems. 112 Ukraine . 2018-05-25.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.