NPCS plans to complete implementing universal QR code by mid-October
MOSCOW. Sept 19 (Interfax) - The National Payment Card System (NPCS) plans to complete implementing the universal QR code by mid-October, thereby standardizing the technology for paying by QR code across the entire acquiring network of the Faster Payments System (FPS), the NPCS said.
The universal QR code will allow 206 banks participating in the FPS and 4.7 million retail outlets operating through the FPS to accept payments using the code, and to accept digital rubles going forward.
The NPCS technology solution allows accepting payments also using Pay services and installment services. This means that a universal QR code based on the equidistant NPCS infrastructure allows retaining all types of payment instruments and all privileges from banks and the FPS. Customers will continue to receive the usual cashbacks owed to them under the selected loyalty programs.
"Implementing the NPCS solution for paying by QR codes, as similar to the technical standards for payment cards, will allow minimizing the costs of banks and merchants on the one hand, as well as deliver bank clients a more convenient customer experience on the other hand," NPCS CEO Dmitry Dubynin said in the press service's statement.
The pilot project already involves 22 banks and 86,000 retail outlets that are using the code. VTB , Sovcombank , DOM.RF Bank, Sinara, and Russian Standard Bank are among the lending institutions that have announced participation in the pilot project. Ozon Bank also announced plans to join the piolet project.
The NPCS announced the launch of the pilot project to implement a universal QR code at the end of June. Having connected to the NPCS solution, merchants may display a universal QR code in any convenient way, namely on a terminal screen and by printing the code, including on a paper receipt. Meantime, buyers may choose any payment method when scanning, namely via the FPS, a bank's pay service or installment service, as well as using the digital ruble going forward.
The Central Bank of Russia previously proposed setting the deadline for mandatory acceptance of payments in digital rubles as of July 1, 2025, for retailers and service outlets with annual revenue over 30 million rubles; as of July 1, 2026, for retailers and service outlets with annual revenue over 20 million rubles; and as of July 1, 2027, for all other retailers and service outlets. Paying for purchases in digital rubles will be effected using the universal QR code based on the NPCS, thereby eliminating additional costs for banks and merchants, the CBR said.
The digital ruble is the third form of the Russian national currency that the CBR plans to issue in addition to the existing forms of cash and non-cash money. The CBR has been conducting a pilot project with real digital rubles since August 15, 2023. Implementing the digital ruble into wide circulation is expected to begin gradually in 2025.