The law establishing legal and organisational framework of the national payment system has been enacted

Prior to enacting of Federal Law "On National Payment System" No. 161-FZ of 27 June 2011 the growing business of the instant payment operators was not legally regulated. Even despite of the fact that in Russia popularity of such chains as "Yandex.Money", "Cyberplat", "WebMoney", "Qiwi" is growing each year, and new e-wallets are being registered and actively used.

In the new Law the national payment system means all money transfer operators (including e-money operators), bank paying agents (subagents), paying agents, organisations of the federal postal service when rendering payment services in compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, payment systems operators, payment infrastructure services operators (participants of the national payments system).

The Law establishes requirements to participants of the payment system, detailed regulation of technology of money transfers (in particular limitation of operations with electronic payment systems by specific amounts), requirements to payment systems (including procedure and consequences of recognition of a specific payment system as "systemically important" or "socially important", the risk management requirements), as well as the procedure of exercising control and supervision by the Bank of Russia in the national payment system. Participants of the national payment system are obliged to guarantee bank secrecy and protection of information on the means and methods of ensuring of the information security, personal data and other information subject to mandatory protection in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. For the purposes of observance of the confidentiality of the information received from the user of e-money, the Law provides for the obligation of money transfer operators, bank paying agents (subagents), payment systems operators, payment infrastructure services operators to ensure protection of the information during money transfer in compliance with the requirements established by the Bank of Russia.

The Law introduces legitimate definitions of such concepts as e-money and electronic means of payment. As soon as the Law becomes effective, in Russia there will appear a new form of non-cash payment – an e-money transfer which can be carried out only by those credit institutions that obtained from the Bank of Russia a license permitting e-money operations. E-money means monetary funds contributed by clients to credit institutions which are to be registered without opening bank accounts.

The Law shall become effective on 29 September 2011 save for some provisions for which other dates of entry into force have been established.

See: Federal Law "On National Payment System" No. 161-FZ of 27 June 2011.