Wildberries proposes to allow online retailers to display fees of acquiring banks
Russia's largest marketplace Wildberries believes it is necessary to allow Russian online retailers to specify the cost of acquirer bank commission separately from the cost of goods for customers, said the company's Deputy GR Director Maria Zhivykh.
"The initiative, which we are now actively promoting, - fixing at the regulatory level the possibility to set prices separately from the cost of payment, focusing on the experience, including the Europeans," - said Zhivyh at the New Retail Forum.
She explained that in the European market retailers indicate the basic price of the goods separately from the cost of payment, as a result, customers can choose the most convenient and profitable way for them, thus receiving a "transparent" pricing and the ability to save.
"In Russia, such a scheme is not possible because it is dictated by the rules of the international payment systems themselves registered in our market. As a result we have uncontrolled growth of tariffs, <...> market mechanisms are blocked, because the buyer is deprived of the opportunity to "vote with his ruble" and choose the payment system, the method of payment, which he prefers, "- she said.
Earlier the international payment systems Visa and Mastercard accused Wildberries of adding an additional commission of 2% when paying by their cards. In response, the retailer explained that such a commission has always existed, the marketplace only began to display it to customers, making the payment "transparent". Later, the marketplace decided to introduce a 2% discount for payments by cards of national payment systems. This was received with criticism in Mastercard and Visa, in particular, Visa sent a letter to the retailer's acquiring banks that it was a violation of the rules of the payment system. Wildberries has accused foreign payment systems of threatening Russian banks over fees on the platform.
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Author: Karina Kamalova