 | |
| Company type | Online payment solution |
|---|---|
| Founded | November 1998; 27 years ago (1998-11) inMoscow[1][2] |
| Headquarters | Moscow, Russia[3] |
| Services | Online payments,Payment processor |
| Parent | WebMoney Transfer Ltd[4] |
| Website | Official website |
WebMoney is anonline paymentsettlement system established inRussia in 1998.[1][5] It is one of the largest electronicpayments 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]
WebMoney users' funds are stored in a "purse", which holdselectronic 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 asguarantors for the payment system.[10] Guarantors accept deposits in the underlying assets and issue the corresponding WebMoney units.[11] WebMoney Transfer can be used forpeer-to-peer payments, and includes anescrow 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 researcherKris Kaspersky criticised WebMoney Keeper Classic for Windows, as it installed a low-leveldevice driver that allowed direct access to theI/O ports and accessed the hard disk directly usingATA commands instead of via theoperating system.[14]
The company was founded in November 1998 inRussia[5] as amoney transfer system forUnited States dollars, in the wake of the1998 Russian financial crisis that had led to increased US dollar use inRussia.[1][2]
In November 2015, WebMoney Europe Ltd, based inCambridge,United Kingdom, was granted anFCA licence to issuee-money within theEuropean Economic Area.[15] On 01-01-2021, the company terminated its agreements with all WebMoney EUR wallet holders as a result ofBrexit.[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 avideo identification system for customers.[18]
The WebMoney Transfer system offered the solution of accepting payments viaQR code for restaurants and shops. Customers need to scan aQR 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, theCentral Bank of Russian Federation revoked the license of KKB Bank JSC, the guarantor and the settlement bank for WebMoney'sRussian ruble wallets, freezing WebMoney's funds on KKB's accounts.[20][21]
In June 2013, theUkrainian 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 theMinistry of Revenues and Duties ofUkraine 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 theNational Bank of Ukraine.[22][23][24] The ministry described WebMoney as an "illegal system" that was suspected of being used formoney laundering andtax 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, theNational Bank of Ukraine[26] and theState Savings Bank of Ukraine[27] partnered with WebMoney.UA.
In May 2018, theNational 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 theNational Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.[28]
