The main objective of the prospective electronic payment system would be to challenge the dominance of established brands such as MasterCard and Visa, which currently hold around 85 percent of the Russian cards market. The plans for a Russian-operated electronic payment network come after in June 2008, Russia’s two largest banks – Sberbank and VTB Group – have teamed up to create the United Russian Payment System (URPS).
According to the same source, one of the motivations behind the Russian Central Bank’s decision to green light the initiative is an attempt to lower Russias dependency on foreign companies.
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