Apple Pay Launched for the Russian Market with Mastercard and Sberbank

Mastercard cardholders of Sberbank will be the first to use the innovation

Sberbank clients, holders of Mastercard cards, can now use Apple Pay, which will let them make secure and convenient contactless and online payments.

“Mastercard is a technology leader and we are committed to bringing innovations to the Russian market and by doing so, we get Russia to the digital future. With the launch of Apple Pay cardholders have a safe, easy and private way to pay for everyday purchases with their favorite devices – when, where and how they want,” − said Alexey Malinovskiy, Head of Mastercard Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Armenia.

Security and privacy are at the core of Apple Pay. The service leverages the safe and secure Mastercard Digital Enablement Service (MDES) platform of Mastercard, which uses the most advanced payment technologies – EMV, tokenization, cryptography and biometrics – to ensure the integrity of cardholder information.

When a client adds a Mastercard credit or debit card to Apple Pay, the card number is not stored on the device or Apple’s servers. Instead, a unique ID is assigned to each device, which is encoded and safely stored on the device’s Secure Element chip.

“Apple Pay is driving the popularization of contactless payments in Russia and globally. Many of Sberbank clients actively use new technologies, and an increasing number of them will prefer cash-free and contactless payment using their smartphones,” commented Alexander Torbakhov, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank.

Apple Pay can be easily set up in the Sberbank Online mobile application, which is familiar to all Sberbank cardholders. Users can enjoy contactless payment service while continuing to receive all the benefits from using their credit and debit cards.

In stores, Apple Pay works with iPhone SE, iPhone 6 and later, and Apple Watch.

Online shopping in apps and on websites accepting Apple Pay is as simple as the touch of a finger with Touch ID, so there’s no need to manually fill out lengthy account forms or repeatedly type in shipping and billing information. When paying for goods and services on the go in apps or Safari, Apple Pay works with iPhone 6 and later, iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 3 and later. You can also use Apple Pay in Safari on any Mac introduced in or after 2012 running macOS Sierra and confirm the payment with iPhone 6 or later or Apple Watch.

MasterCard contactless payments are available in 77 countries with 6 million acceptance points around the world.

About Sberbank

Sberbank is Russia’s largest bank and a leading global financial institution. Sberbank holds almost one third of aggregate Russian banking sector assets, it is the key lender to the national economy and the biggest deposit taker in Russia. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation is the founder and principal shareholder of Sberbank owning 50% of the Bank’s authorized capital plus one voting share, with the remaining 50% held by domestic and international investors. Sberbank has more than 135 million individual customers and more than 1 million corporate clients in 20 countries. Sberbank has the largest distribution network in Russia with almost 17,000 branches, and its international operations include UK, US, CIS, Central and Eastern Europe, Turkey and other countries.

About Mastercard

Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone.