ArmInfo. VTB Bank (Armenia) switches to the processing system of the Russian company "MultiCarta". Chairman of VTB Bank Directorate (Armenia) Ivan Telegin and General Director of MultiCarta LLC Kirill Sviridenko signed an agreement of intent to cooperate on October 17 at a press conference.
Ivan Telegin noted that the choice of the MultiCarta processing system is determined, in particular, by the fact that, according to the strategy, VTB intends to ensure significant business growth, including card business, by 2022. And in this regard, according to him, the MultiCarta company meets the requirements of the bank, including from the point of view of the development of new technologies. "Therefore, the choice of the largest processing company in the Russian Federation is not accidental, since MultiCarta meets our ambitions and desires for the growth of the card business," said the head of VTB Bank (Armenia). At the same time, he added that the Russian bank VTB is also serviced by the MultiCarta company, whose technologies are advanced. ''I think that not only for VTB Bank (Armenia) this is a significant plus in development, but also for the entire banking system of Armenia. All these innovations we can bring to Armenia with the help of MultiCarta will have a very positive effect on all market participants and VTB Bank (Armenia) first of all'', he said.
Answering a question from ArmInfo correspondent, Ivan Telegin noted that he sees no risks in switching to the processing system of the MultiCarta company, since the technologies proposed by partners significantly exceed the capabilities of their own processing center. ''The so-called "disaster tolerance" is 99.9%. In practice, this is an absolute value. Therefore, here, we see a reduction in risks'', he stressed. To this, the head of VTB Bank (Armenia) added that with the transition to the MultiCarta processing system, all cardholders will receive additional services, which will increase the bank's competitiveness and customer service capabilities. At the same time, as he noted, this will lead to an increase in the client base, an increase in the quality of service, and an increase in business profitability.
In this regard, the director general of LLC "MultCarta" Kirill Sviridenko added that today having their own processing center, able to support all modern payment technologies, is rather expensive for banks. According to him, even small banks that had their own processing systems are beginning to understand that it is better to entrust processing services to specialized companies. ''We hope that cooperation will enhance the technological equipment of the payment network, in particular ATMs, Internet banking, contactless payments, and make them more convenient. We have a lot of ideas and experience too. I hope that in a few years all this will turn into a really working convenient infrastructure in Yerevan and throughout Armenia, including for tourists, the number of which grows rapidly '', K. Sviridenko said.
To note, LLC "MultiCarta" is a Russian company providing banking processing and service for more than 25 years. The company provides modern services for business: processing, personalization of bank cards, acquiring and many others, using advanced domestic and foreign technologies, as well as its own unique developments. "MultiCarta" is a partner of the international payment systems Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Union Pay, JCB and "Mir", certified according to the international PCI DSS standard. The company serves more than 60 Russian and foreign banks. 50 million cards, 25 thousand ATMs, 250 thousand POS-terminals and 10 thousand Internet-commerce enterprises are serviced by MultiCarta. In July 2019, the MultiCarta company received the status of the official processor of the UnionPay system , thus the Chinese payment system UnionPay International (UPI) confirmed the right of the MultiCarta company to service emission and acquiring programs of the participating banks of the system. This status is confirmed by the corresponding certificate and includes support for four areas: servicing a payment gateway, acquiring (POS), ATMs (ATM) and e-commerce programs.
According to the 19th issue of the analytical review "Armenian Banks in the Card Business" prepared by ArmInfo IC, VTB Bank (Armenia) maintains leadership in the number of active Visa and MasterCard cards, as well as in the volume of ATM transactions, occupying the 2nd position in total volume plastic transactions and the number of ATMs. As of April 1, 2019, the bank had 379.2 thousand cards, of which 234.1 thousand MasterCard and 145.1 thousand Visa. The volume of plastic transactions on Bank cards exceeded 278.3 billion drams by the end of 2018, of which 253.3 billion drams were ATM transactions, and 8.9 billion drams were Internet transactions. The number of ATMs of VTB Bank (Armenia) as of April 1, 2019 is 170, of which 80 are installed in the capital and 90 in the regions of Armenia. Of these ATMs, 15 are equipped with a cash-in function.
It should be noted that VTB Bank (Armenia) CJSC became a member of VTB International Financial Group in April 2004. Currently, the second largest VTB Bank PJSC in Russia owns 100% of the shares of VTB Bank (Armenia). The Bank traditionally ranks among the leaders of the banking system of the Republic of Armenia by its main indicators. In terms of coverage of the branch network, VTB Bank (Armenia) maintains leadership, both in terms of their total number and regional divisions.