Russia’s central bank blocks Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, and T-Bank from launching an alternative payment system

The Bank of Russia has rejected a plan by Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, and T-Bank to create their own payment system alongside, or as an alternative to, the National Payment Card System (NSPK). For payment companies, the point is simple: in Russia, the national rails still sit firmly under the central bank’s control.

1. The idea had been in motion since autumn 2025, according to RBC sources. The banks first proposed a classic card payment system, but the central bank turned that down.
2. The consortium then came back with a different design based on alternative payment form factors, and said other participants could be allowed into the project. That version also failed to get approval, with the decision reportedly communicated at a meeting with bankers in May.
3. On paper, the banks said the new system would not compete with Mir cards. They framed it as a way to develop alternative payment methods, raise fee income, and protect against profit shifting to marketplaces. In practice, the regulator was not persuaded by either structure.
4. Two sources told RBC that the central bank предложил an alternative: the banks could take part in an equity restructuring of NSPK. The sides reportedly agreed to continue discussions on that option.
5. NSPK is Russia’s only national payment system. It was created in 2014 after sanctions following the annexation of Crimea, when Visa and MasterCard left the country. Today it operates Mir and the Faster Payments System (SBP). The push for a rival was not new: Sberbank chief Herman Gref raised the idea back in summer 2023.

For PSPs, acquirers, and banks watching Russia, this is a reminder that payment infrastructure expansion still runs through NSPK and the central bank’s approval process. If you want a new rail, you are not really starting a new rail; you are negotiating with the owner of the existing one.