Belarus 2025

Market Overview
Payment Organisation	JSC ‘Banking Processing Center’ (BPC)
Domestic Card Brand	BelKart cards, some banks co-badge Belkart with Maestro.
Market Structure	Cards issued reached 2.10 per capita in 2023, up from 0.36 in 2006. Debit cards predominate, and the BelKart scheme accounted for 34% of all cards. Only about 5% of cards issued are credit/charge cards. Other than card payments, internet and mobile banking is spreading rapidly. In 2023, ATM withdrawals comprised 32.54% of total transaction value and POS payments for 67.46%, an increase of 27% for POS values in one year, largely due to the lingering impact of the Covid-19 pandemic restricting cash use and pushing up the use of non-cash methods at the POS. In February 2010, NBRB (National Bank of the Republic of Belarus) and CBRF, the Russian central bank, agreed on joint use of payment cards on their respective national payment systems in Belarus and Russia. Nearly 45.76% of banking sector assets are held by the two biggest banks, both of which are state-controlled. The market share of foreign-owned banks accounted for 22.76% of total bank assets (state-owned banks: 50.76%). Belarusbank issues 39.0% of all bank cards in Belarus and operates 30.5% of the national ATM network. Priorbank, owned by Raiffeisen Bank International (A), is the only western-owned bank, and several Russian banks are present.
Notable Market Trends	Rollout of contactless cards and POS terminals, Belkart rollout, mobile HCE NFC pilots, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay
Major Card Issuers	Belarusbank, Belagroprombank, BPS-Sberbank Belarus, Priorbank, Belinvestbank.
Major Card Acquirers	Belarusbank, Belagroprombank, BPS-Sberbank Belarus, Priorbank, Belinvestbank.
Major Card Processors	JSC ‘Banking Processing Centre’, Priorbank, Bank BelVEB.

Key Statistics 2023
Population	9.15 million, 2.10 cards per capita
Cards	19.24 million, thereof 6.5 million BelKart cards.
Card Transactions	All cards: value BYR 120.7 billion ($48.89 billion)
POS Terminals	203,002 POS terminals in 148,310 card-accepting outlets
POS Payments	All cards: value BYR 98.79 billion ($32.92 billion)
ATMs	4,165
ATM Withdrawals	All cards: value BYR 47.65 billion ($15.88 billion)

Introduction – Payments in Belarus

Belarus is a presidential republic with a bicameral Parliament (Natsionalnoye Sobranie) composed of the Chamber of Representatives and the Council of the Republic.

It is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Organisation for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM) and the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).

Having gained independence from what was the Soviet Union in 1990, Belarus is a founder member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, which was formalised in 2015. Belarus benefits from Russian support in the form of cheap energy and other subsidies which are unofficially estimated as equivalent to 15% of Belarus’s GNP.

Belarus has maintained state control over key industries, including banking, although a gradual process of privatisation is under way.

Unlike other countries in Eurasia, Belarus has shown no inclination in joining the European Union, but instead maintains a bilateral relationship, and Belarus participates in the Eastern Partnership and Baku Initiative, which are aimed at fostering discussions over trade, economic strategies and other issues of interest.

Political tensions between Belarus and neighbouring countries deepened in 2020 with the disputed 2020 presidential election, with sanctions being imposed on Belarus by the EU, Canada, the UK and the US, citing election interference and political oppression. Belarus’ growing economic and military cooperation with Russia was highlighted in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which was in part conducted through Belarus. A large external debt burden, economic isolation and the prospects of new sanctions owing to Belarus’s security alignment with Russia over the conflict in Ukraine continue to hamper the country’s economic prospects in 2022-23.

Although digital banking penetration remains low compared to the rest of the Eurasian region, internet penetration has risen sharply in Belarus in recent years, while the mobile phone penetration was 128.4% as of 2023. Banks in Belarus have put digital channels at the centre of their growth strategies, while refocusing their branch networks to offload more transactions online. In tandem with this, internationally accepted mobile payment services like Apple Pay have been launched in Belarus.

The use of central bank digital currencies is an active area of development In Belarus, with the central bank encouraging initiatives making use of blockchain technology.

Banking Sector

Established in 1922, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB) is an independent institution operating in accordance with the Statute of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus of 2001 and the Banking Code of the Republic of Belarus of 2000 and their amendments. The NBRB’s Banking Supervision Directorate supervises the Belarusian banking sector.

Formed in 1990, the Association of Belarusian Banks brings together all 31 registered banks in Belarus and 11 non-banking organisations to liaise with government bodies and advise on legislation and regulations affecting the banks.

The minimum capital adequacy requirement for banks is 8%. Since 1991, 25 banks that failed to meet the NBRB’s minimum capital adequacy requirements have been liquidated.

Over 2017 and 2018 Belarus’s economy grew again after two years of recession. GDP rose by 3.4% in 2018 was 3.4% but by 2019 it grew by just 1.2%, lower than the 4% initially predicted, due to oil sector and taxation issues with Russia. The economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic included a weakening of domestic and external demand, inflation growth and supply chain issues.

As a result, GDP in 2020 fell by 0.9% before recovering in 2021 with growth of 2.3%. While the recession of 2020 turned out to be quite mild in Belarus, Western economic and financial sanctions imposed in mid-2021 were expected to have a negative impact on the economy and banks from 2022. Given the 2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict, Belarus’ close links with Russia and its growing political isolation from the West, was expected to lead to a significant drop in GDP in 2022, with some estimates of a 6% decline. This expectations turned out to be correct given that the downtrend was sustained in 2022 with a negative GDP outcome of 4.7%. The poor economic performance was broad-based, involving even the resilient ICT sector, and was dragged by the uncertainty resulting from the war on Ukraine as well as export and financing constraints causing a substantial contraction of investment and net exports. By 2023, Belarus’s economy expanded by 3.9%. driven by the manufacturing industry, particularly machinery and equipment, (9.2%), trade (12.7%) and the construction sector (11%).

Limiting inflation to no more than 5% was the major monetary policy target for the NBRB in 2020, but consumer prices grew in 2020 by 7.4% versus 4.7% in 2019, largely due to the weakening of the Belarusian ruble, and supply shocks in the markets of certain food products.

In 2020, core inflation stood at 7.1% (3.5% in 2019), and rose again to 9.5% in 2021, driven by increased prices for foods and commodities. By 2022, inflation worsened further to 12.8% in December despite the price freeze and other price controls implemented by the Government. In 2023, inflation slowed to 5.8% due to base effects and price controls.

Structure

At the end of 2023, the banking sector in Belarus consisted of 21 banks and two non-bank financial institutions. Three banks were liquidated in 2020 – Delta Bank, BIT Bank, and Eurobank. There were also five representative offices of foreign banks (namely, banks of Russia, Germany, China, and the Interstate Bank). Of the 21 commercial banks, 12 are majority foreign-owned, two are wholly foreign-owned, 16 banks are partially foreign-owned, and four banks are state-owned. Of the 22 banks, Delta Bank is in the Bankruptcy stage. In 2023, Delta Bank and 2 non-bank financial institutions underwent liquidation.

State-owned banks continue to account for the majority of the banking sector’s total assets, with Belarus bank, Belagroprombank, and Belinvestbank accounting for 50% of total assets in 2023. Foreign-owned banks make up around one-third of the sector’s total assets, with Russian credit institutions comprising the lion’s share: BPS-Sberbank, Belgazprombank, BelVEB, Alfabank Belarus, and Bank VTB Belarus. Priorbank, a subsidiary of Austria’s Raiffeisen Group remains the largest non-Russian foreign-owned bank with a 6.9% share of total assets.

In 2022, Sberbank (Belarus), BelVEB, and VTB (Belarus) were placed under Western sanctions as subsidiaries of Russian banks in response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Bank Dabrabyt and Belinvestbank have also been sanctioned by the European Union and the United States. Three Belarusian banks have been disconnected from SWIFT – Belagroprombank, Bank Dabrabyt, and the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus. By 2023, the EU’s restrictive measure against Belarus expanded to include a SWIFT ban for 5 Belarusian banks and limits on the financial inflows from Belarus to the EU. In February 2023, the EU extended the restrictive measure for another year (till February 2024). In June 2024, the EU adopted a new set of restrictive measures against Belarus extending export ban, prohibiting the provision of certain services to Belarus and broadening the prohibition on the transport of goods by road within the territory of the EU.

1 - Belarusian Banking System
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	GR 22/23	CAGR 5Y
Banks registered by the NBRB	28	27	27	22	22	0.00%	-4.71%
- thereof licensed to conduct banking transactions	24	24	24	21	21	0.00%	-2.64%
- thereof banks wholly foreign-owned	4	4	4	3	2	-33.33%	-12.94%
- thereof banks with foreign ownership over 50%	10	11	11	11	12	9.09%	3.71%
- thereof banks with a foreign stake	19	19	19	16	16	0.00%	-3.38%
Source: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus.
Note: 2022 figures are for 01/01/2023.

The two biggest players remain state-owned, despite occasional talk of partial privatisation. Belarusbank and Belagroprombank accounted for 45.7% of banking sector assets in 2023. The five largest banks account for 60.4% of the banking sector’s total assets.

In 2023, five banks in Belarus were state-owned – Belarusbank, Belagroprombank, Belinvestbank, Bank Dabrabyt, and the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus (DBB). They account for 50.7% of the banking sector’s total assets. Foreign-owned banks account for 23.4% of the banking sector’s total assets.

Six of the country’s 10 largest banks are majority foreign owned, with three banks 100% foreign-owned.

In early 2020, the government sold 99.83% of its shares in Paritetbank to Cypriot company Beristore Holdings, which is controlled by Russian entrepreneur Said Gutseriev. In June 2020, the NBRB put Belgazprombank into interim administration until an investigation into alleged money laundering and tax evasion was completed, and the bank resumed activities in December 2020. In April 2021, Getin Holding sold 99% of its stake in Idea Bank to MT Bank. In December 2021 Alfa-Bank acquired 99.98% of shares of Belarusian bank Fransabank.

Austria’s RBI Group held an 87.74% stake in Priorbank In 2023; BPS-Sberbank (98.4% foreign owned), Belgazprombank (99.64% foreign owned), Bank BelVEB (97.5% foreign owned) and VTB Bank (99.99% foreign owned) are all Russian owned, as is Alfa-Bank, which is a partly owned subsidiary of Alfa-Bank Russia.

The privatisation of several state-owned banks remains on the state’s agenda, after being postponed beyond 2017.

Starting from July 2021, all Belarusian residents (both legal entities and natural persons) were allowed to open bank accounts at foreign banks without restrictions, unless specifically provided by legal acts or currency restrictions. Belarusian residents will also be allowed to freely transfer amounts between their Belarusian and foreign bank accounts. In some cases, residents are allowed to receive funds to their bank accounts at foreign banks. In June 2021, the European Union imposed sanctions on the Belarusian state in response to human rights and state repression concerns. Banking and financial services entities in the country face sanctions on money market instruments, investments and lending.

2 - Main Banks in Belarus end-2023
	Ownership	Assets BYR bn	Assets € bn	Market share %
Belarusbank	State: 99.11%, local authorities	43,240	13.32	33.88%
Belagroprombank	State: 99.41%,	15,162	4.67	11.88%
Priorbank	RBI Group (A): 87.74%, State: 6.31%, Individuals: 4.83%, Other: 1.12%	8,806	2.71	6.90%
BPS-Sberbank Belarus	Sberbank (RUS): 100%	5,231	1.61	4.10%
Belinvestbank	State, local authorities	5,234	1.61	4.10%
Bank BelVEB	Vnesheconombank Group (RUS): 97.52% ; Others; 2.48%	5,048	1.56	3.95%
Belgazprombank	Gazprom (RUS): 49.82%, Gazprombank (RUS): 49.82%, others: <1	4,896	1.51	3.84%
Alfa-Bank	ABH Belarus (CY): 64.5%, Alfa-Bank (RUS): 30.8%, Alfa-Bank (treasury share): 4.7%	4,682	1.44	3.67%
MTBank	MTB Investments (CY): 99.13%, others: 0.87%	3,511	1.08	2.75%
VTB Bank (Belarus)	VTB Group (RUS): 99.99%	2,938	0.91	2.30%
Bank Dabrabyt	State	1,148	0.35	0.90%
other banks		27,742	8.55	21.73%
Total assets		127,638	39.33	100.00%
Note: market shares were calculated using a total assets figure of BYR 104.88 trillion for end-2022.
Note: individual banks’ asset figures may differ from those given by the NBRB.
Belinvestbank stopped operation from June 2022
Bank Dabrabyt asset was freezed in 2022

Belarusbank is a substantial regional player, ranking as one of the largest non-Russian banks in the Eurasian region. It accounted for 33.88% of banking sector assets as at end-2023.

Belarusbank remains 99.11%-owned by state entities. In 2017, the government of Belarus set up a consortium to help sell a minority stake in the bank. In December of that year, Belarusbank announced it did not envisage selling a minority interest until 2020. As of mid-2022, no further progress had been made.

The Bank has an extensive network of branches operating in Belarus servicing more than 6.6 million retail customers. As of 2023, the network of Belarusbank consisted of 14 branches, six regional offices, HQ in Minsk city, 118 banking service centres, 71 exchange offices, and 946 outlets of which half are in urban areas. There were 1,271 ATMs and 1,660 information kiosks in its network as of 2023.

Belagroprombank –The bank retains its traditional focus on the agricultural sector but has broadened its appeal and won market share in recent reporting periods. In its 2020 annual report, it claimed 1.5 million retail customers and 300 customer service points across the country, plus 40,000 corporate customers. The branch network included seven regional branches, 11 secondary branches, 281 cash and settlement offices and 53 currency exchange offices. The possible sale of 10%-20% of Belagroprombank shares to Russia’s agricultural sector specialist, Rosselkhozbank, had been suggested in the past. Belagroprombank is state-owned (99.41%). No update for 2022 was given.

BPS-Sberbank Belarus, the Belarus subsidiary of Sberbank (RUS), reported 99 banking outlets and 1.6 million customers at end-2023. As of 2023 the bank had 61 branches across Belarus and claims that every third adult citizen of the country is a customer of BPS-Sberbank.

In December 2009, the State and Sberbank (RUS) signed the agreement on acquisition of 93.27% of shares of BPS-Bank by Sberbank (RUS) and conclusion of the investment agreement on long-term development of BPS-Bank. During 2010, BPS was increasingly integrated into Sberbank Belarus. In October 2011, the bank was renamed into BPS-Sberbank Belarus.

During 2020, the bank repositioned its physical branches to be virtual fitting rooms for customers to try out products before buying.

Belvnesheconombank (Bank BelVEB) is a universal credit and financial institution. As of 2023, Bank BelVEB’s branch network comprised 24 offices rendering services to individuals and legal entities (including the large business category), including five offices in regional cities, 14 offices in Minsk, and 10 offices in other cities and towns throughout the country.

Priorbank, the Belarus subsidiary of Raiffeisen Bank International (A), reported 42 points of sale (consisting of 14 Banking Service Centres (BSC) and 28 remote BSC workplaces) and 940,000 customers at end-2023. It also had 345 ATMs (giving it a market share of 8.0%) and 204 POS terminals (market share of 10%).

In most of its banking network, Raiffeisen Bank International operates under its own brand and changes the name of banks it purchases. Because of the strength of its brand in Belarus, however, Priorbank has been one of the few exceptions. The modernisation of Priorbank has stimulated activity among other Belarus banks.

Digital Banking 

All retail banks in Belarus offer online banking and mobile banking apps to their clients. Internet banking, SMS banking and mobile banking apps are available in Belarus and offered by the country’s leading commercial banks, aimed at retail users and small businesses.

More than 50% of the country’s internet users were engaged in internet banking at the end of 2022, up from 30% at the end of 2018 while approximately 48% used the internet to purchase goods and services as of 2022. The Belarus government’s digital banking development strategy stipulates that by January 1, 2021, each of the banks in the country must connect at least 60% of customers (individuals) to SDBO (internet and mobile banking applications.

There is no bank-independent electronic banking standard in Belarus; each bank offers its own proprietary system for corporate banking purposes.

The number of internet connections has risen sharply in Belarus in recent years, with an internet penetration rate of 91.51%, while mobile phone penetration was 128.4% as of the end of 2023.

Belarusbank – In 2019, Belarusbank launched Apple Pay and Samsung Pay services for holders of Maestro co-badged Belkart cards, with around 24,500 customers registered to use these services by 2020. The bank also launched QR code mobile payments within its mobile banking app, and contactless Wallet Pay services for holders of Mastercard, Maestro and co-branded Maestro Belkart cards. Payment services Garmin Pay, Fitbit Pay, and contactless wearable items were also launched. As of 2020 around 15,000 bank customers were using these services. The bank also launched the Hutki cash withdrawal services, using codes without payment cards. Belarusbank also introduced the “Lady” programme for female customers, which had around 64,000 members as of 2020.

In 2021, Belarusbank became a partner of the BYNEX crypto exchange, allowing customers to exchange Bitcoin and Ethereum and withdraw fiat currency using a Visa payment card. Belarusbank launched a new card product, Club Svoi, for legal entities. Belarusbank, Mastercard, and Assist were the first in Belarus to implement a new service for payment security, with the MDES for Merchants (M4M) tokenisation technology made available to users. Also, during the year the bank implemented more than 4,000 acquiring agreements. Belarusbank cardholders can use Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Garmin Pay, and Fitbit Pay through a range of Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, and BelKart cards.

Belagroprombank said that, in 2013, it had introduced a TV banking service, aimed at rural customers, which allows users of interactive TVs to carry out a full range of online banking services. The bank has since launched new technological solutions including SMS banking for balance alerts, transaction confirmations and other basic services. In January 2020, the bank discontinued its mobile banking service Belagroprombank Mobile and replaced it with a mobile internet banking app available on iOS and Android platforms. During 2020, the bank launched several new digital products and services. For individuals, the bank implemented a mobile payment service, Wallet Pay. Belagroprombank also worked with Mastercard to launch a student card. The bank has also significantly updated the functionality of its remote and digital channels.

BPS-Sberbank ramped up digital channel capabilities in 2020, and its share of retail payments in remote channels and at unattended terminals comprised 99.6% by volume and 97.5% by value. The amount of P2P transfers in remote channels and at unattended terminals increased by 1.9 times by volume and 2.7 times by value, for 1.09 million transfers and BYN 109.6 million, respectively. In 2020, BPS-Sberbank also launched Apple Pay, adding to Samsung Pay and SberPay in the bank’s digital payment services. No update for 2021 – 2023.

Priorbank claims to have been first in Belarus to launch a full-fledged internet banking service for private individuals and first to launch a mobile app for mobile devices based on Android and iOS. The bank said that among its clients, the most popular service is SDBO – Internet banking and mobile applications. In 2013, Priorbank expanded functionality of the internet bank with a new service, AutoPay, which allows customers to automate regular payments. The service is used to automatically execute the customer’s personally configured list of his or her own payment schedule.

In 2019, the number of Prior Online mobile banking app users increased by 40% to 309,000 customers, and the bank also launched Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Garmin Pay services, allowing users to conduct card transactions on a mobile phone or wearable device. As of the end of 2019, more than 58,000 cards were connected to the services. According to the bank, more than 62% of its card transactions are made online.

Priorbank’s digital activities in 2020 led to a 22% acquisition of new customers through digital channels. The share of customers using the Prior Online mobile app rose by 50.6%, and around 17% of consumer loans were issued through digital channels. After successful launches of payment services in H2 2019 Samsung Pay, Apple Pay and Garmin Pay, Priorbank launched contactless payment for FitBit Pay and Mi Pay services. The number of clients using these increased in 2020 from 35,000 to 66,000 and the share of payment for goods and services using smartphones increased by 9% and amounted to 16% by the end of 2020.

In 2021, Priorbank continued to focus on expanding digital banking services for corporates, as improvements in its internet banking platform made it possible to increase the share of corporate clients connected to internet banking to 90%, with 2,000 corporate customers overall. In 2022, a digital onboarding system was implemented to involve new customers in the use of the bank’s products and services, and this has increased the share of Business and SME customers with two or more products to 35%.

In 2023, Priorbank reported that the number of active retail clients increased by 1.1%, reaching 940,000, with premium customer numbers rising by 5.7% to reach 25,300, with 82.5% of premium customers using the remote service model, reflecting a 3.9% increase in 2023. In 2023, one of the key objectives in working with private clients was to increase further the active customer base of individuals, primarily by attracting new customers through

digital channels. Notably in 2023, the share of new customer acquisitions through digital channels increased by 7.9 percentage points, reaching 42%. In 2023, the active mobile app user base increased from 64.6% to 70.3% among individual customers.

Development of API services in 2021 allowed clients to view information on invoices, work with documents (form, approve, etc.), and also work with factoring documents (receive factoring agreements, receive payment reports, etc.). A collaboration with RBI has begun to implement a platform with the ability to integrate various payment systems based on APIs.

Priorbank continued to expand the areas of application of artificial intelligence in customer interactions. Four predictive models for SME segment customers have been put into operation to select the most relevant offers (next best offer), and the most effective selection of proposals to stimulate card payments, reducing the volume of cash turnover. In 2022, the bank introduced a ‘Best Recommendation System’ (based on the mathematical models of predictive analytics Next Best Offer) and this enables the clients to receive offers about products and services that are most suitable for their business in a specific period. In 2022, more than 35,000 voice standards of the bank’s private clients were recorded on incoming calls. In total, since the launch of the biometric authentication project, more than 400,000 customer voice samples have been recorded. This means that more than 41% of active bank customers use voice biometrics to verify their identity when calling the bank. In 2022, the VIC virtual consultant recognised and routed more than 1.5 million customer voice requests to operator groups and answered more than 195,000 requests without the help of an operator, thus replacing nine operators. The average level of voice channel automation increased from 9% in 2021 to 13% in 2022. In 2023, the virtual consultant VIC correctly recognised and routed more than 1 million customer voice requests to operators, serving more than 170,000 requests without the help of an operator. The level of automation increased from 13% to 17% compared to 2022. This growth is attributed to regular monitoring of all self-service services, the addition of new information services, and improved customer speech recognition.

By the end of 2022, the voice consultant was able to independently serve 27 services, including seven with voice client authentication. By the end of 2023, the voice consultant was servicing 34 self-service services, including 7 with voice authentication of the client. The chatbot on the corporate website and online banking added service for 40 new scenarios over the year, and by the end of the year, it served more than 100 of the most popular topics of customer requests. By the end of the year, the automation level on the chatbot reached 29% compared to 14% in 2022. By the end of 2023, Priorbank’s branch network consisted of 42 points of sale, including 14 banking service centres and 28 remote workplaces.

BankBelVEB – In January 2021, Bank BelVEB began accepting MIR cards, and upgraded its mobile app. According to the bank, the number mobile app customers increased by 7%, while the number of active mobile app users increased by 68.8% from 2020, reaching 138,800 users.

In February 2021, Bank BelVEB simplified the procedure for opening a second and subsequent account for corporate clients, making it possible to be done remotely 24/7. It also expanded the list of money transfer countries to 57 and introduced digital signatures to simplify and speed up account opening and product applications. It also launched a P2P card-to-card transfer service using the recipient’s phone number, while another money transfer service was launched to enable transfers from the bank’s payment cards to the cards of non-resident bank customers.

In 2021, Bank BelVEB launched a multi-currency payment card, allowing users to use US dollars, euros, and Belarusian rubles.

In 2023, Bank BelVEB launches the Belkart Pay service for cardholders of the Bank and this application is available for users of devices with NFC based on Android.

Payment Services

In 2024, the more than 300 different payment services offered in Europe can be grouped into:

• Card brands and card types
• E-Money and prepaid products by issued brand
• Account-based payment services by issued brand, e.g. IBAN-based SCT/SDD services
• Advanced payment services. e.g. wallets by issued brand
• Digital payment services, e.g. digital scheme wallets by issued brand

Card Brands and Card Types

All Belarusian retail banks issue cards. In parallel, development of payroll schemes continued to drive cards usage.

BelKart is the domestic card scheme. Some BelKart cards are co-badged Maestro for international use. BelKart cards are primarily designed to function as payroll cards and are generally issued free of charge; as well as payments within Belarus, they can also be used to withdraw cash in foreign currencies.

Belarusian card products like consumer cards, commercial cards and purchasing cards range from classic cards to gold cards and platinum cards. Additional card features (e.g. picture cards, bonus points, PIN selection at ATMs and card control by SMS notification) are used to attract cardholders. Also, individual picture cards and collector cards can be issued on demand. Further, card-to-card P2P services have been launched.

By the end of 2023, it was estimated that over 95% of cards had been migrated to the EMV standard in Belarus.

From July 2023, banks and other card issuers will no longer issue Maestro cards. Instead, they will need to issue Debit Mastercard. Maestro was launched in 1991 and was the world’s first debit card that could be used via an online network. About 400 million Maestro cards are in circulation worldwide, mainly across Europe. However, Maestro is not enabled for the demands of e-commerce and cannot be used for online or in-app payments, hence the decision to phase it out in favour of Mastercard Debit products. Visa announced that Electron cards will be phased out globally in 2024. The features of the Visa Debit card have been modified to match the features of the Visa Electron card.

Debit cards issued are BelKart, Mastercard, VISA, Maestro, and Electron cards. There are no V PAY cards in circulation.

Credit Cards issued are cards branded BelKart, VISA, Mastercard or UnionPay.

Prepaid Cards – Most issuer banks in Belarus issue prepaid cards, e.g. virtual prepaid cards for internet use. BelKart provides a prepaid card, the Universal Gift Card. In 2019, Priorbank launched a virtual card for use with its Prior Online mobile banking app.

Co-branded cards – In Belarus, there is a very low number of co-branded cards are in circulation.  In March 2019, a co-branded BelKart and Ministry of Defence card was launched, with 20,000 cards issued to military personnel. Belarusbank also issued a co-branded Student card, available from 130 educational establishments, with over 14,500 cards issued.

Most banks also practise the extensive issuance of salary cards.

Contactless Cards and form-factors

Contactless Cards – The issuer banks in Belarus have started to issue contactless cards and wristbands/bracelets with added PayPass or payWave function, respectively.

Predefined contactless limits – Contactless payments of purchase amounts below a predefined contactless limit are without PIN or signature and without transaction receipt. In Belarus, the contactless limit for payments without PIN/signature is set to be BYR 200,000 for cards with PayPass or payWave function. In late 2017, cards with Visa PayWave were enabled for use in the Minsk Metro system. In 2020, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the contactless payment limit was raised to BYN 100 from BYN 20.

According to data from Mastercard, as of 2022, contactless card penetration and usage are high in Belarus compared to European averages, with 98% of POS terminals enabled for contactless, 93% of all card transactions being contactless, and 90% of cards being contactless.

Interchange Fee Arrangements

International and Intra European Non-EEA Interchange Fees are set by the members of the international card schemes to be applied in case of cross-border transactions or foreign cards used in Belarus, respectively. The effective rates of Mastercard and VISA Europe can be found on the respective Mastercard and VISA websites.

Domestic Merchant Interchange Fee (DMIF) for Belarusian cards is defined by Mastercard and VISA, respectively.

E-Money 

In 2000, the NBRB started regulating operations in e-money. E-money in Belarus is kept in e-wallets. According to Belarusian legislation a plastic card, PC software and any software/hardware device containing e-money and/or providing an access thereto may be used as an e-wallet.

As of 2021, several banks, including small specialist players, offer e-money services.

• Belgazprombank Berlio” and V-coin
• Belinvestbank Oplati
• Technobank “Technobank” based on technical platform of WebMoney Transfer system)
• Paritetbank iPay
• Bank Dabrabyt MTS Money
• R Bank iPay, QIWIBel
• Sberbank ePay
• Belarusbank, Priorbank Prepaid payment cards (e-money cards branded VISA, Mastercard or BelKart)
• Belagroprombank    (Rosberlio-Card, Euroberlio)
• BPS-Sberbank YooMoney
• R Bank QIWI

Priorbank provides more information on its e-money services than other Belarus banks. In 2013, Priorbank began to issue iPay e-money, which gives customers the opportunity to make payments to service providers using cash held on their mobile phone. Also, it launched Belqi, an electronic wallet enabling payment services or person-to-person transfers.

Priorbank said the total volume of transactions using Belqi in 2013 “exceeded the value of BYR 2.99 billion ($337,000).” In 2014 the number of Belqi digital wallets increased by 2.8 times – the number of transactions increased 3.1 times, and the volume of transactions increased 3.9 times. In 2016, the transaction turnover with electronic money Belqi increased by 14%, the transaction numbers dropped by 0.3%. However, in September 2018, Priorbank closed Belqi and announced it would cease issuing e-money services altogether. The bank stated it would promote payment cards instead as an alternative means of payment and as the most effective way of managing payments.

Digital Account-to-Account Payment Services 

In the Yearbooks, account-based payment services are classified as bank payment services on bank accounts offered by banks or by independent payment initiation service providers (PISP).

Credit transfers are the dominant payment instrument in Belarus in terms of both volume and value. Both electronic and paper-based credit transfers are used in Belarus.

Direct debits are not available in Belarus.

As in many European countries, bank transfers have been adopted for online payments, enabling consumers to pay direct from their bank account as an alternative service to payment cards.

Advanced Payment Services

In the Yearbooks, advanced payment services are classified as online wallets, e-wallets, and/or mobile wallets with any type of payment service chosen by the wallet user to complete the payment.

In selected Belarusian online shops, the wallets PayPal, Yandex and Webmoney are offered as payment means.

PayPal – PayPal is available in Belarus, however it is not possible to receive payments. As of end-2023, PayPal reported 426 million active customer accounts globally, down 2% from 435 million in 2022. This consisted of 391 million customer active accounts and 35 million merchant active accounts across approximately 200 markets. PayPal’s total payment volume increased to $1.53 trillion (up 12% from 2022) and customer engagement grew to an average of 58 transactions per active account, driving 14% growth in transactions per active account at the end of 2023.

During 2020, with consumers worldwide embracing digital wallet capabilities, the company launched several related services including QR Code Checkout, Buy Now Pay Later, Crypto purchasing and Xoom direct transfers to bank accounts and debit cards.

In June 2018, PayPal continued its shopping spree with a $400 million cash deal to acquire e-commerce platform Hyperwallet. The acquisition followed deals to buy Venmo, Xoom, Sweden’s iZettle (renamed Zettle) for $2.2 billion, and AI-based merchant marketing outfit Jetlore, as Paypal bids to extend its reach to all corners of the payments market.

In May 2022, PayPal Ventures invested in Modulr, an embedded payments platform for digital businesses, as part of a $108 million Series C funding round led by General Atlantic, Blenheim Chalcot, Frog Capital, and Highland Europe. Modulr delivers payments infrastructure for over 200 top-tier customers, including Revolut, Wagestream, Sage, and BrightPay, and processes an annualised transaction value of more than £100 billion. In 2023, PayPal is exploring the sale of Xoom, its international money transfer subsidiary, in a bid to cut costs and focus on high-growth business areas. Also, Stax Payments – an all-in-one payment provider for businesses – announced its partnership with PayPal in July 2023. This partnership will allow PayPal’s users to easily make payments with more than 20,000 merchants of Stax through a fast checkout process as well as new payment options such as Buy-now-pay-later solutions.

In 2023, PayPal launched its own US Dollar denominated stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), which is fully backed by US dollar deposits, short-term US treasuries, and similar cash equivalents and designed for digital payments and Web3. Eligible US PayPal customers who purchase PayPal USD will be able to transfer the token to external wallets, send person-to-person payments, fund purchases at checkouts supported by PayPal, and convert cryptocurrency holdings to and from PayPal USD.

In January 2024, PayPal launched AI-powered features to drive personalised offerings for both merchants and customers based on the data it possesses. These features include Smart Receipts (for merchants) which predicts what shoppers may want to buy next from the merchant. The merchant can then offer personalised recommendations, and cashback offers on this receipt. A major feature for users is CashPass which will use give users personalized cashback offers based on an AI analysis of their spending activity.

In March 2024, PayPal launched a complete suite of payment processing tools for online small businesses in the UK, Canada, and across more than 20 European markets. The PayPal Complete Payments package enables small businesses to accept an expanded range of payment instruments including PayPal, buy now pay later, Apple Pay, Google Pay, credit and debit cards, and alternative payment methods from around the world. By April 2024, PayPal added new features to its complete payments solution for small businesses to enable small businesses to accept a range of payments including PayPal, Venmo and PayPal Pay Later products. PayPal also gave small businesses access to four new features to help them drive payment acceptance and enhance how they run their business, and this will include Apple Pay as a checkout option.

Digital Payment Services

In the Yearbooks, digital payment services are classified as card-based payment services using EMV tokenisation security on the internet combined with HCE NFC technology in the case of contactless payments at POS terminals.

As of mid-2023, the Click to Pay replaced the previous MasterPass and VISA Checkout services respectively. Click to Pay is not yet available in Belarus. Click to Pay is a joint service between Mastercard, Visa, Discover and American Express, enabling consumers to make secure one-click payments without having to enter card details or passwords online. Click to Pay is not yet available in Belarus.

Contactless payments on cards or using Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, or Google Pay (previously Android Pay) made by foreign users at contactless POS terminals in Belarus are processed as payments on contactless cards.

Global contactless transaction values will reach $10 trillion by 2027, up from $4.6 trillion in 2022, with contactless mobile and wearable payments expected to grow by 221% and contactless card payments by 119% over the same period.

Contactless ticketing spend will increase by more than 440% globally between 2022 and 2027, with growing prominence and support for OEM pay solutions, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay” being a “key enabler for mobile NFC ticketing across many markets.

Overall growth in contactless transaction values will be catalysed by growing mobile payments adoption, with 99% of all smartphones capable of making contactless payments by 2027, up from 94% today, and average transaction values for Apple Pay reaching $28.20 and $33.40 for Google Pay.

Apple Pay has become one of the world’s most used digital payment methods. Its user base increased from 521.4 million to 535.8 million in 2022. By 2024, the total number of Apple Pay users was estimated at 640 million and is projected to exceed 700 million by 2027,

According to Apple’s Q2 last 2022, they saw a record of transactions with more than 1.8 billion processed during the quarter, up 40% year-over-year. This payment method is also available in over 90% of the US and 60% of stores globally.

Apple Pay is the #1 most popular digital wallet with a 92% market share, processing a global total of $6 trillion in payments in 2022 and produced a revenue of $1.9 billion.

As of 2023, Apple Pay processed 14.2% of all online consumer payments and 3.5% of all in-store purchases.

Around 51% of global iPhone users have enabled Apple Pay in 2022. There are 10 million Apple Pay-friendly contactless payment terminals worldwide.

The transactions made using Apple Pay are mostly in-store purchases, online transactions, and peer-to-peer payments. It is trendy for contactless payments, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were about 38 million Apple Pay users in the United States as Apple Pay has gained popularity since its launch in 2014, accounting for 43.2% of mobile payment users. These numbers expect to increase and grow up to 101.2 million this 2023.

Putting it all together, Apple Pay is increasingly becoming an effective customer acquisition and retention feature for Apple. In June 2022, Apple Pay added Apple Pay Later, its own buy-now-pay-later service, allowing users to split purchases into four equal instalments with no interest or fees. Initially launched in the US, the service is expected to roll out to other countries during 2023. In 2023, Apple launched its Card savings account from Goldman Sachs with a 4.15% annual percentage yield. Apple Wallet users can set up and manage a savings account directly from Apple Card in Wallet, with no fees, no minimum deposits, and no minimum balance requirements.

Apple Pay was launched in Belarus in 2019 and is available in Belarus through 12 banks as of November 2024.

Google Pay has 150 million active users across 42 global markets. Google Pay was launched in Belarus in February 2021 through BePaid.

In January 2022, it was reported that the company was planning to transform Google Pay into a “comprehensive digital wallet”, following the app’s reported slow growth and the shutdown of Plex. In April, it was reported that Google was planning to revive the “Google Wallet” branding in a new app or interface and integrated with Google Pay. Google officially announced Google Wallet on May 11, 2022, at the 2022 Google I/O keynote. The app began rolling out on Android smartphones on July 18, replacing the 2018 app and co-existing with the 2020 Google Pay app in the US. While the app name itself was changed from Google Pay to Google Wallet, the service name of actually paying for things online or in-store remains “Google Pay.”.

In the US, Google Pay has over 25.2 million users.  Also, Google Pay is used on nearly 800,000 websites as a secure payment gateway. Roughly 20% of all mobile purchases are made using this digital payment processor. Google Pay ranks 3rd among mobile payment methods globally. In Russia, it has an online usage distribution of 35.18% and has recorded approximately 1,281,838 transactions online. Available in 19 countries, 30% of Google Pay’s active users are millennials. It is one of Canada’s top 5 online payment apps and is the primary mobile payment method for 2,193 businesses worldwide. In India, Google Pay boasts 67 million active users and holds 36.10% of the mobile application market. Its widespread adoption and significant market share highlight its growing importance in the global digital payment landscape.

In 2022, Google Pay paused its billing system for users in Russia and extended the same to Belarus. This means that users cannot purchase Apps and games nor updates to paid Apps in Belarus. As of November 2024, Google Pay is not officially available in Belarus for in-store contactless payments. However, since February 2021, Belarusian users have been able to utilise Google Pay for online transactions through web-based solutions. This functionality allows customers to make payments on websites and in applications that support Google Pay, provided their bank cards are linked to their Google accounts.

Samsung Pay is available in 29 countries worldwide and has an estimated 140 million users. Samsung Pay works with Galaxy phones, including the latest Galaxy S22. Samsung claims that its system will work with almost all point-of-sale systems: NFC, magnetic stripe, and EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) terminals for chip-based cards. In June 2022, Samsung Pay was renamed to Samsung Wallet in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Along with the renaming came new features such as the ability to store digital assets and digital keys within the Wallet app.

In Belarus, Samsung Pay is supported by 12 banks as of April 2024.

Overview of Cashless Payments

Cash is an important payment medium in Belarus, particularly for low-value retail and commercial transactions.

In electronic payments generally, credit transfers are used for large value payments, while retail transactions are mainly cash and some credit transfers.

Card payments are the only significant type of electronic retail payment, as direct debits are not widely used.

Cheques are rarely used in Belarus. They are cleared bilaterally between banks.

Exchange Rates

The Belarus rouble (BYR) is the national currency. NBRB redenominated the BYR on 1st July 2016 (see Table 3).

3 - Average Exchange Rates
	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
1 € in BYR	2.4054	2.3418	2.7873	2.8950	2.7529	3.2455
1 $ in BYR	2.0366	2.0914	2.4390	2.5456	2.6199	3.0012
Note: the Belarusian Ruble was redenominated by the NBRB on 1st July 2016.
Source: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB). Yearbooks research.

Market Infrastructure

National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB) 

The Belarus government has maintained a close focus for several years on development of the domestic payment system and on driving the development of non-cash payments. In April 2013, NBRB was instructed to implement the joint action plan formulated by government and financial organisations for the period 2013-2015. Specific measures included:

• Agreement with Belarus banks to launch EMV chip cards from January 1 2015.
• Amendment of the consumer protection law of 2002 giving consumers the right to choose between cash and non-cash payment for goods and services.
• Further extension of the mandatory use of payment terminals to areas including gambling and vending machines, motorway service facilities and railway ticketing.
• Mandatory acceptance from February 15, 2014, of BelKart domestic cards as well as VISA and Mastercard cards by all organisations equipped with payment terminals (see below for further details of BelKart).
• Agreement on merchant service charges collected by banks for acquiring card payments and ATM withdrawals
• Submission of further proposals to the ministry for taxes and levies requiring extension of mandatory use of payment terminals to market traders and other entrepreneurs, with NBRB specifically calling for the use of ‘GandliarOK’ mobile payment terminals.
• In 2018, NBRB launched a partnership with the country’s Digital Business consortium, including a workstream to enable Open Banking via shared APIs, and the appointment of a senior representative charged with improving cyber-security in the country. This agreement also covered the promulgation of blockchain-enabled systems in Belarus, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and digital ID collaborations.
• In 2020, Regulations No. 773 (Regulations No. 773), aimed to implement digital banking provisions of Edict No. 148. The Regulations No. 773 detailed the scope of transactions and documents that may be made by users of the Interbank Identification System (the IIS) in electronic form without electronic digital signature, as well as set requirements applicable to IIS users in that regard.
• Edict No. 148, which entered into force on 21 October 2019, further develops digital banking technologies, use of information systems for banking and financial transactions, and the expansion of remote identification by means of the IIS operated by the non-banking credit and financial institution Unified Payment and Information Space. Edict No. 148 allows IIS users to use biometric data (voice recordings, photos and video images of the customer) for identification and authentication purposes.
• As part of the development of remote identification, the NBRB adopted Resolution No. 235/8 “On Rendering Verification Services to Legal Persons Enabling the Opportunity to Provide Relevant Services to Legal Persons to Confirm the Reliability of its Clients’ Data” on April 16, 2020.

In line with the centrally directed character of the Belarus economy, NBRB sits at the apex of the national financial system, with responsibility for regulating banks and payments, for operating ASIS (the Automated Systems of Interbank Settlements) as well as the national credit registry, and for supervising e-money schemes and promoting non-cash payments.

NBRB launched domestic cards in 1994 with ‘Payment System BelKart’, which it established with six commercial banks in order to promote interoperability of card systems and to facilitate processing, clearing and settlement. BelKart was slow to develop until it was made compulsory for state-owned organisations in 2006 (see below).

For transactions made with VISA and Mastercard cards, NBRB launched the ‘National Net Settlement Project,’ which outsources clearance and calculation of net positions among Belarus member banks to VISA and Mastercard. Net positions of all local transactions are sent back to NBRB for settlement through BISS, the Belarusian Interbank Settlement System. Transactions made in Belarus with cards issued in other countries are settled abroad.

The development of the single settlement and information space (AIS) in 2020 was aimed at increasing the number of its participants, expanding the list of goods (works, services) available for payment and payments to the budget, providing convenient and simple payment services for citizens and economic entities. As of January 2021, there were 24 settlement agents (23 banks and one non-bank financial institution) and the payment agent of RUE Belpochta. As of 2020 19,581 service providers were connected to the system.

In 2020, 472.4 million payments worth BYN16,295.8 million were conducted through the AIS “Settlement”. The increase in payments accounted for 0.7% in terms of number and 29.7% in terms of the amount. In 2020, the NBRB continued the development of the interbank identification system to improve usability, security and attractiveness for customers, including registration of biometric templates and subsequent authentication of natural persons using biometric data. As of January 2021, the interbank identification system contained information about 6.6 million natural persons, 141,700 legal persons, and 146,500 individual entrepreneurs, of which 1.6 million natural persons, 129 legal persons and 67,600 individual entrepreneurs were registered in the interbank identification system.

Credit Registry

NBRB administers the national credit registry that provides banks and organisations such as mobile network operators with the credit histories of loan applicants. As at January 2021, the registry held 4.93 million credit histories, which contained 29.33 million credit transactions, of which 8.19 million are current.

All banks of the Republic of Belarus, the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus, leasing and microfinance organisations were the sources of formation of credit histories. As at January 2021, 82 microfinance organisations and 94 leasing organisations were connected to the Credit Registry as the sources of formation of credit histories.

BelKart Cards and the BelKart Scheme (BelCard)

In 2023, 19 banks participated in the BelKart system, including Belarusbank, Bank Reshenie, Belagroprombank, Belinvestbank, Priorbank, Paritetbank, Belgazprombank, Trustbank, Bank BelVEB, Bank Dabrabyt, BelSwissBank, ZepterBank, MTBank, Bank BNB, Techno Bank, Fransa Bank, RRB-Bank, Alfa-Bank, and Absolutbank.

Any Belarus bank that is a member of the Mastercard and BelKart systems will be able to issue cards under both brands. These cards will be serviced in Belarus by the two payment systems and by the Mastercard acquiring network abroad.

BelKart cards are primarily designed to function as payroll cards and are generally issued free of charge; as well as payments within Belarus, they can also be used to withdraw cash in foreign currencies.

Governance Model – NBRB insisted that BelKart was to rank equally with VISA and Mastercard within Belarus and should be viewed as a real alternative to the international systems. However, it also noted that if adoption of BelKart were enforced, VISA and Mastercard would lose almost all the Belarusian market in payroll cards.

NBRB said it did not want to ban the use of VISA and Mastercard in these projects, and agreed that part of the salary, along with the obligatory use of a BelKart card, could be placed on international cards, typically VISA Electron.

BelKart Developments – Although launched as far back as 1994, the ‘Payment System BelKart’ gained traction only from 2006 onwards, when the president of Belarus instructed salary payments to state employees to be made to BelKart payroll cards. At the time, 95% of cards were issued under payroll projects, more than 80% of which were on behalf of state-owned enterprises and “budgetary organisations”.

In 2007, NBRB approved a five-year plan to accelerate development of the national payment system. BelKart joined the JSC ‘Banking Processing Center’ on a single platform with VISA and Mastercard.

Since 2007, BelKart’s trademark has been owned by Banking Processing Center (BPC), a subsidiary of Belarusbank (see below). In 2008, large-scale issuance of ‘BelKart-M’ magstripe cards began.

At end-2009, Belarusbank and some other banks began issuance of BelKart-M savings cards, which pay a rate of interest on sums deposited to the card account. Funds on the card accounts can be held in dollars, euros, or Belarusian and Russian roubles.

In February 2010, NBRB and CBRF, the Russian central bank, agreed on joint use of payment cards of their respective national payment systems in Belarus and Russia.

In June 2013, BelKart announced plans for co-badged payment cards with Maestro launched in 2014. BelKart said it saw partnership with Mastercard as a means of gaining international acceptance for its cards, adding contactless functionality and assisting with the January 1, 2015 upgrade of cards to EMV chip cards.

In February 2019, a cooperation agreement was signed between BelKart and MIR cards (Russia) to allow for the mutual acceptance of these two card systems between the two countries. The integration was planned for mid-2020.

In May 2020, Belkart was reorganised in a merger with Banking Processing Centre.

Since July 2021, BelKart cardholders have had access to cross-border money transfers from cards of the MIR payment system.

As of 2023, there were 6.5 million BelKart cards in circulation. It is believed that the key reason behind the significant increase from 2021 is the Belarussian cards branded Mastercard or VISA by Belkart cards due to the international ban of Belarusian cards.

From September 2021, online payment in Russian online stores was available with BelKart cards of Belarusbank and Belagroprombank. In October 2021, Belarusbank and BSB Bank implemented cross-country transfers from BelKart cards to cards of the MIR payment system. Since December 2021, contactless BelKart cards can be used to pay for travel in the Minsk metro. In August 2022, the BELKART payment system presented a mobile payment app, BELKART PAY, for contactless Belkart card payments. Initially, 6 banks supported BelKart Pay. By August 2023, this number had increased to 14, allowing a broader base of Belarusian bank customers to utilise the service. By August 2023, BelKart Pay was accepted at approximately 147,000 retail and service organisations across Belarus. Notably, 99.2% of all BelKart-issued cards were compatible with the application, indicating widespread adoption and integration within the national payment infrastructure.

As of 2022, due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, international sanctions against Belarus banks and suspension of services by the likes of Visa and Mastercard has affected usage of Visa and Mastercard cards in the country. In March 2022, it became impossible to make purchases in foreign marketplaces (Amazon, AliExpress, etc.), as well as pay in stores, withdraw cash from ATMs abroad, and conduct transactions using all kinds of wallets (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, etc.). Due to the imposition of sanctions, there were problems with international transactions with Visa and Mastercard cards and in some Belarusian banks – BelVEB, Belinvestbank, Dabrabyt Bank, RRB, Technobank, VTB and BPS-Sberbank.

According to BelKart, for cards co-badged with Maestro, transactions in Belarus are carried out according to the rules and tariffs of BelKart, whereas outside the country Mastercard rules apply. BelKart-Maestro cards are accepted in all countries where Mastercard cards are serviced, with the exception of cards from banks that have fallen under sanctions. At the same time, BelKart-Maestro cards issued by banks that fell under sanctions are not serviced outside Belarus. However, sanctions do not affect the performance of BelKart-MIR cards. The partnership agreement with the MIR payment system provides for the mutual acceptance of cards in Belarus and Russia’s infrastructure, as well as in the infrastructure of other partners of the MIR payment system.

Due to the cooperation of BelKart and MIR, secure payments with MIR cards became available in Belarusian online stores. Belarusbank became the first bank to carry out online acquiring of MIR cards online and Belagroprombank has recently joined. Hence, in 2023, MIR cards are accepted by more than 800 online stores compared to 500 last year. Other acquiring banks are preparing to also accept MIR cards.

In 2022, BELKART virtual cards became available for issuance at Belarusbank, Belinvestbank, Belgazprombank, Decision Bank, Technobank, Sberbank, Belagroprombank, Alfabank, Bel VEB Bank and BSB Bank. Also, during 2022, BNB Bank, RRB Bank, Alfabank, Decision Bank, BSB Bank, Paritetbank and Sber Bank started issuing BELKART cards with an EMV standard microprocessor, joining Priorbank, Fransabank, Belinvestbank, Paritetbank and Dabrabyt Bank that started issuance in 2021.

BelKart Statistics – BelKart figures of June 2024 reported cards issued as 7.0 million, giving a market share of 36.39%, compared to 33.3% from the same period in 2019. BelKart cards are accepted at 98.1% of the ATMs in the country. Out of the total transactions on BelKart cards by number and by value in January 2023, there were an estimated 512 million payments, or 88.50% of all non-cash payments, amounting to 48% of the total transactions value. In July 2009, BelKart accounted for only 11% of cards (715,000), the balance being VISA and Mastercard cards.

Updates from the banks have been sparse in recent years, but Belarusbank accounted for 71.9% of total BelKart cards, with 4.07 million cards in 2017.

As of the end of Q2 2024, there were 7.0 million Belkart cards in circulation and these accounted for 36.4% of cards in circulation. The share of non-cash payments with BelKart cards stood at 63.9%. About 43 transactions per second were carried out by BelKart cardholders with a per-minute turnover of BRB 128,400 on BelKart cards.

4 - BelKart Quarterly Figures
	Q2 2019	Q4 2020	Q1 2022	Q2 2023	Q2 2024	GR Q2-23/Q2-24
Belkart cards in circulation	5,412,835	4,239,247	4,412,458	5,800,000	7,000,000	20.69%
- share of all Belarusian cards	35.4%	27.4%	26.51%	32.09%	36.39%	13.40%
ATMs serving Belkart cards	4,194	4,302	4,308	4,247	4,165	-1.93%
- share of all Belarusian ATMs	98.0%	98.1%	99.1%	100.0%	98.1%	-1.93%
Kiosks serving Belkart cards	2,971	2,617	2,383	2,226	1,968	-11.59%
Cashpoints serving Belkart cards	2,894	2,729	2,553	2,436	2,436	0.00%
Note: the Belarusian Ruble was redenominated by the NBRB on 1st July 2016.
Source:BelKart.

Belpochta (Belarus Post Office)

As in most Eurasian countries, the national post office network has the largest number of branches of any institution and is widely represented in rural areas where there are few if any banking facilities.

The Belarus government aspires to develop ‘Republican Unitary Enterprise of Postal Services ‘Belpochta,’’ which already undertakes a range of payment functions, into a fully-fledged payments organisation. Services are provided to BelKart, Mastercard and VISA cardholders at over 3,000 post offices.

Belpochta offers payment of utility bills through its internet based Webpay.by service. Subject to the issuing bank’s approval, these payments can be made with any VISA, Mastercard, Electron, or Maestro card.

Since 2007, Belpochta has been able to execute money transfers throughout Belarus in electronic form, while there is an expanding network of international money transfers to 22 countries. More recent services include SMS payments and a virtual post office on the Belpochta website where users can pay utility and other bills.

Belpochta also handles utility, benefit and pension payments and makes payments to payroll scheme cardholders. Based on agency contracts with individual commercial banks, Belpochta is able to assist individuals in opening bank deposit and current accounts, including card accounts, and can issue statements in respect of these accounts. Belpochta can also accept funds from card accountholders for transfer to a bank to replenish individual card accounts. In early 2014, Belpochta announced that pensioners would be able to receive their pensions at any of its branches.

Belpochta has worked with Priorbank to improve the range of card services extended to post office users. By end-2008, more than 3,000 workstations accepting VISA cards issued by Priorbank were installed in post offices, enabling cardholders to check their card account balance, pay for goods and services, withdraw cash on the card, and deposit cash into the card account, whether debit or credit. Cooperation of a similar nature has since been extended to Belgazprombank.

In 2018, Belpochta was admitted as a separate member of the national settlement system (AISS) and by 2020 accounted for 22.6% of all electronic payments in the country by volume, and 14.4% by value. No update for 2021 and 2022 was disclosed.

Card Issuers in Belarus – Overview 

The Belarusian banks issue credit cards, charge cards, debit cards and prepaid cards in combination with bank accounts. Addressing the specific needs of personal banking and business banking, the card portfolio is composed of consumer cards, business cards and corporate cards.

Dedicated card products are offered for the individual client segments: families, millennials, students, affluent clients, small business clients, corporate clients and even basic account clients. The credit cards offered range from classic cards to gold cards and platinum cards.

In 2023, bank cards were issued by 24 banks in Belarus, and 19 of them issued domestic BelKart cards.

The Belarus banks issue debit cards branded BelKart, Mastercard, Maestro, VISA, or Electron, and delayed debit cards and credit cards branded BelKart, Mastercard, UnionPay, or VISA. BPS-Sberbank Belarus serviced American Express cards.

The major issuers in Belarus are Belarusbank, Priorbank, Sberbank Belarus, Belagroprombank, and Belinvestbank. Other issuers include Bank BelVEB, Belgazprombank, VTB Bank, and Alfa-Bank. Table 5 illustrates the card brands issued by the leading Belarus banks as at mid-2024.

5 - Leading Card Issuers in Belarus
Domestic Issuers	Issued Card Brands	Owned by
Belarusbank	Mastercard, VISA; Electron; BelKart	State: 99.11%, local authorities
Belagroprombank	Mastercard, VISA; Electron; BelKart	State: 99.41%,
Priorbank	Mastercard, VISA; BelKart	RBI Group (A): 87.74%, State: 6.31%, Individuals: 4.83%, Other: 1.12%
BPS-Sberbank Belarus	Mastercard, VISA; BelKart	Sberbank (RUS): 100%
Belinvestbank	Mastercard, VISA; Electron; BelKart	State, local authorities
Bank BelVEB	Mastercard, VISA; BelKart	Vnesheconombank Group (RUS): 97.52% ; Others; 2.48%
Belgazprombank	Mastercard, VISA; BelKart; UnionPay	Gazprom (RUS): 49.82%, Gazprombank (RUS): 49.82%, others: <1
VTB Bank (Belarus)	Mastercard, VISA; BelKart	VTB Group (RUS): 99.99%
Alfa-Bank	Mastercard, VISA, BelKart	ABH Belarus (CY): 64.5%, Alfa-Bank (RUS): 30.8%, Alfa-Bank (treasury share): 4.7%
other banks	Mastercard, VISA; Electron; BelKart	foreign owners, state
Note: Belgazprombank began issuing UnionPay in Q1 2019.
Source: PCM research.

Outlook – By 2024, Belarussian card issuers face the following notable challenges:

• Rollout of online/mobile bank payment services combined with mobile payment apps
• Implementation of 3D-Secure 2.3; launch of digital wallets, in-app payments, in-store payments
• Competition from card-less payment service providers: PISPs, AISPs, FinTechs
• Tokenisation security combined with HCE NFC and card credentials stored-on-file
• Open Banking ecosystem and demanded access to card accounts (XS2A)

Card Processors and PSPs

In Europe, the payment processing industry is composed of card processors, ATM/POS network hub processors, e-/m-payment service processors (PSPs), and specialised processors (e.g. CSM processors, TSM services).

In Belarus, card issuer processing services range from technical issuer processing, including card printing, to full cardholder processing services. They include all types of cards and card technologies allowing for card use at multiple channels (i.e. at ATMs, POS terminals, on the internet and in-store – mobile payments in the future).

Acquirer processing services in the country range from technical acquirer processing, including POS terminal services, to full merchant processing services.

In Belarus, JSC ‘Banking Processing Center’ (BPC) is the leading card processor. Most banks use the services of BPC also known as National Processing Center, a subsidiary of Belarusbank which owns 49.3% of the BPC. The exceptions are Priorbank and Bank BelVEB which own and operate their own card processing centres.

JSC Banking Processing Center (BPC) provides the platform for BelKart and the gateway into VISA and Mastercard. Other services include authorisation and clearing, ATM and POS terminal management, and personalisation of bank cards. Key vendors supporting BPC are IBA, a three-way venture between IBM and Belarus interests, Tieto, NCR, and Hypercom.

In 2017, the BPC introduced contactless MPOS terminals and mobile HCE NFC payments. Also, BPC implemented a project for client banks to enable the use of the international structure for IBAN-based bank payments.

The development of a P2P payments service continues. For the first time in Belarus, BPC provided the Belarusian banks with the functionality of cross-transfers between the cards of different payment systems VISA, Mastercard, and BELKART.

As of January 2022, BPC managed 9.03 million cards and a network comprising 2,454 ATMs, 1,753 info kiosks, and 123,337 POS terminals connected to 73,908 merchants and organisations. BPC reported 286.3 million authorisation requests per month and 197.3 million financial transactions per month. At the beginning of 2020, BPC announced its support of Samsung Pay, Garmin Pay and Apple Pay for banks and their customers. BPC did not provide an update for end-2022 and 2023.

Bank BelVEB’s processing centre provides services to Technobank, Alfa-Bank, Bank Minsk-Moscow, RRB-Bank, Idea Bank and BSB Bank. In its 2010 annual report, BelVEB said the number of card-based transactions processed at its centre rose 35% to 17 million, with value up by 44% to more than $1 billion. In 2018, Bank BelVEB’s card processing centre handled about 54 million transactions, a 24% year-on-year increase.

Online Payment Service Processors (PSPs) 

Online payment service processors (PSPs) are specialised technical processors for all kind of secure online payments and mobile payments. Some of them also offer virtual PSP platform services (VPSP) for bank acquirers who want to take advantage of a kind of ‘internet network processor’.

Online shops of merchants are directly connected by an API interface or a hosted payment page either to the internet payment gateway of a bank acquirer, or they are connected to multi-acquirers through a PSP.

PSPs usually partner with more than one card acquirer and payment initiation service providers. Core services offered by PSPs may include payment gateways to card acquirers and other online payment service providers, online payment processing, risk management services, and collection services for merchants.

Security technologies applied to ensure secure online card payments include EMV tokenisation and strong 3D-Secure (MCSC, VbV, SafeKey) combined with one-time tokens. For card-less payment services, the security technologies applied include userID/password combined with one-time tokens and online banking access with one-time TAN.

Leading online payment service processors include the Banking Processing Center (BPC), eComCharge, YooMoney, and Webpay.by.

Acquiring and Acceptance

In Europe, most acquirers offer multi-channel card acceptance and value-added merchant services at POS terminals, mobile MPOS terminals and online shops. The leading acquirers usually offer their services cross-border.

In addition, innovative acquirers also offer the acceptance of card-less payment services based on partner agreements with the issuer of those payment services (e.g. account-based payments, wallets, prepaid products).

Most acquirers either operate their own acquirer systems and ATM/POS/MPOS network service hubs, or they use the processing services of external processors. In order to service online merchants in Europe, they might operate their own PSP processing platforms, or they co-operate with one or more specialised online payment service processors (PSPs).

From 2012, Eurasian acquirers began to compete in their home markets, cross-border in the CIS region, cross-channel at POS terminals and servicing online merchants. From 2016, innovative acquirers started to offer omni-channel and multi-payment acceptance.

By 2024, omni-channel acceptance includes the ability to service all channels (i.e. POS/MPOS terminals, mobile in-store, online shops, in-app), and to accept multiple payment means in all of these channels. Multi-payment services demanded by merchants include cards, online bank payments, online wallets, digital wallets, and prepaid products.

Outlook – By 2024, Belarussian acquirers face the following notable challenges:

• Rollout of contactless and virtual POS/MPOS terminals, Interchange++
• Competition from pan-regional and global acquirers, M&A consolidation, international bans from SWIFT
• Complete acquirer service portfolio beyond cards, i.e., acceptance of card-less payment services
• Omni-channel payment acceptance: POS/MPOS, online, mobile in-app, mobile in-store
• Cross-border competition, omni-channel competition, finding PSP partners and PISP partners
• New security standards: e.g., 3D-Secure 2.3; tokenisation security, Strong Customer Authentication

Belarusbank, Priorbank, BPS-Sberbank Belarus, Belagroprombank, and Belinvestbank are the leading acquirers in Belarus. Other acquirers include Bank BelVEB.

All Belarus acquirers accept BelKart, Mastercard and VISA card brands. Belarusbank and BPS-Sberbank Belarus service American Express cards, offering around 73,000 acceptance points in their combined network. In January 2018, Belinvestbank started accepting JCB cards. In 2018, Belarusbank started accepting UnionPay cards, followed by Sberbank Belarus.

Table 6 illustrates the card brands accepted by the Belarusian acquirers as of mid-2024.

6 - Leading Acquirers in Belarus
Domestic Acquirers	Acceptance Brands offered	Owned by
Belarusbank	Mastercard, VISA, AmExp, UnionPay; Debit Mastercard, VISA Debit, Electron; BelKart	State: 99.11%, local authorities
Belagroprombank	Mastercard, VISA; Debit Mastercard, VISA Debit, Electron; BelKart	State: 99.41%,
Priorbank	Mastercard, VISA; Debit Mastercard, VISA Debit, Electron; BelKart	RBI Group (A): 87.74%, State: 6.31%, Individuals: 4.83%, Other: 1.12%
BPS-Sberbank Belarus	Mastercard, VISA, AmExp, UnionPay; Debit Mastercard, VISA Debit, Electron; BelKart	Sberbank (RUS): 100%
Belinvestbank	Mastercard, VISA, JCB; Debit Mastercard, VISA Debit, Electron; BelKart	State, local authorities
Bank BelVEB	Mastercard, VISA; Debit Masterard, VISA Debit, Electron; BelKart	Vnesheconombank Group (RUS): 97.52% ; Others; 2.48%
other banks	Mastercard, VISA; Debit Masterard, VISA Debit, Electron; BelKart	foreign owners, state
Note: all acquirers have own PSP services or co-operate with PSP partners.
Source: PCM research

Belarusbank reported that it is the leading acquirer in terms of the number of merchants accepting payment cards.

BPS-Sberbank claims to be the fourth largest in the number of POS terminals, with a market share of 9.5%.

Priorbank launched new acquiring services in 2020, including Program Cashier, a service allowing cards for payments and accounting on POS devices, with the ability to send data to tax entities online. The bank also launched PriorSoftPOS, with VISA and IBA Group, enabling mobile acquiring for contactless cards, and the integrated PriorSoftPOS + iKassa, which allows mobile acquiring for all cards and digitisation of cash payments. In 2021, an effective marketing activity was carried out on mobile acquiring for the PriorSoftPos service, resulting in 1,076 new merchant clients.

ATM Terminal Infrastructure

All ATMs of the Belarusian ATM network accept cash withdrawals and payments for utilities, mobile phone companies, TV, and internet service providers.

Accepted card brands at ATMs in Belarus are debit cards (BelKart, Mastercard, Maestro, VISA, and Electron) and credit cards (Mastercard, VISA, American Express, Diners, Discover, and JCB). Accepted card brands at ATMs also include Cirrus, Plus, and Pulse. The EMV migration of ATM terminals continued, reaching an estimated 97% of cards by the end of 2022.

ATM networks have expanded strongly during the past five years. There were an estimated 4,165 ATMs at end-2022, down by 1.93% from 2022. NBRB does not provide ATM cash withdrawal statistics.

Additionally, in 2023, there were 2,469 cash-paying offices and 1,968 payment information terminals (info-kiosks).

7 - ATMs in Belarus
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	GR 22/23	CAGR 5Y
ATMs with cash function	4,294	4,387	4,345	4,247	4,165	-1.93%	-0.40%
# ATM Terminals per 1m capita - Belarus	456.3	469.2	469.4	461.6	454.9	-1.45%	0.19%
# ATM Terminals per 1m capita - EA10 total	728.9	713.6	698.7	679.4	706.3	3.96%	-0.17%
Source: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB).

Among individual banks, Belarusbank reported 1,271 ATMs at end-2023, 30.5% of the national estate. In its ATMs, card-to-card transfers within one customer account of the bank are supported free of charge, and Chinese language support was added to reflect acceptance of UnionPay cards in 2018.

BPS-Sberbank reported that as of 2020 it was the fourth largest in ATM networks, with 495 ATMs for a market share of 11.3%; and Belinvestbank had 470 ATMs and 9,100 POS terminals at end-2020. Of the smaller banks, Bank BelVEB had 365 ATMs at end-2019, forming the main part of a network of more than 600 ATMs in the so-called ‘Self-Service Banking System,’ jointly managed by BelVEB and its partner banks, including Technobank, Alfa-Bank, Moscow-Minsk Bank, BSB-Bank and RRB-Bank. This network also accounted for some 6,650 POS terminals, up 21% on 2018.

In 2023, Priorbank reported 345 ATMs and 204 payment and information kiosks. In 2009, Priorbank and Belagroprombank agreed to link their ATM networks. Priorbank at that time had 396 ATMs and info kiosks with cash-receiving functions, while Belagroprombank had 330 ATMs.

In August 2021, China’s UnionPay announced the completion of its integration with the ATM network in Belarus with Belagroprombank.

POS Terminal Infrastructure

In August 2009, the NBRB established a new regulatory framework enabling non-banks to own and operate ‘cash-in’ devices. Belarus banks are required to support non-bank operators on commission-free terms, so that costs of payment are neutral. The new rules will widen the range of outlets able to accept payments for utilities, mobile phone bills and other services.

Accepted card brands at most POS terminals in Belarus are debit cards (BelKart, Mastercard, Maestro, VISA, and Electron), and credit cards (Mastercard, VISA, American Express, Diners, Discover, and JCB). The EMV migration of POS terminals continued.

NBRB figures show payment terminals, card-accepting outlets (merchants with POS terminals), cash-paying offices, and info kiosks. In 2023, there were 203,002 POS terminals, up by 6.24% compared to 2022 numbers. This total of POS terminals includes contactless POS terminals. The number of merchant outlets providing services to cardholders was 148,310 at the end-2023, up by 4.55% from 2022. On average, there were 1.37 POS terminals per outlet. NBRB does not provide POS payment statistics.

8 - POS Terminals in Belarus
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	GR 22/23	CAGR 5Y
Self-Service and reference terminals (infokiosks)	3,080	2,827	2,827	2,226	1,968	-11.59%	-8.70%
Cash-paying offices	2,781	2,767	2,767	2,436	2,469	1.35%	-4.48%
Card-accepting outlets	128,015	124,947	128,000	141,854	148,310	4.55%	4.10%
POS Payment terminals	173,233	168,927	160,265	191,078	203,002	6.24%	4.78%
# POS Terminals per 1m capita - Belarus	18,409.0	18,067.7	17,315.6	20,768.0	22,171.5	6.76%	5.40%
# POS Terminals per 1m capita - EA10 total	15,041.9	17,950.0	19,042.0	21,172.0	23,259.9	9.86%	12.48%
Note: “cash-paying offices” are bank branches, agencies and post offices.
Source: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB).

Among individual banks, Belarusbank claimed nearly 34,000 POS terminals in merchant outlets by end-2023, along with 1,660 self-service terminals, 980 post office points, and 2,000 utility payment acceptance points. The bank’s POS terminal market share was 21%.

In 2022, Belagroprombank reported more than 29,000 POS terminals for card payments at merchant outlets and launched VISA payWave contactless terminals. BPS-Sberbank reported that over 11,000 merchant terminals were connected.

In 2015, Priorbank successfully completed the certification of PayPass Mastercard and payWave VISA for execution of contactless payments on cards at its POS-terminals. In 2023, Priorbank had over 18,000 POS terminals and 14,000 PriorSmartPOS readers.

BelVEB’s ‘Self-Service Banking System,’ jointly managed by BelVEB and its partner banks, including Technobank, Alfa-Bank, Moscow-Minsk Bank, BSB-Bank and RRB-Bank accounted for some 6,900 POS terminals in 2023.

In August 2021, China’s UnionPay announced the completion of its integration with the POS network in Belarus with Belagroprombank. UnionPay has therefore significantly increased its acquiring network coverage in the country. Currently, UnionPay cards are accepted by more than 65% of ATMs and trade and service enterprise terminals in Belarus, and its QuickPass contactless payment is accepted by most of the POS terminals.

MPOS Terminals – Small and mobile merchants have started to use their smartphones and tablet PCs as mini-POS+ECR devices with added chip reader dongle. Also, merchants can initiate MOTO-like card payments on smartphones and tablets by downloading a payment app.

In December 2012, Square clones like iZettle, SumUp and others have launched their services in Europe and are expected to support Belarusian merchants in the future.

In 2014, Belagroprombank installed its first MPOS terminals at small merchants. In 2017, the BPC launched MPOS terminals.

In 2021, Priorbank launched a Tap on Phone with PIN solution for SMEs in Belarus to drive new merchant acquisitions and increase digital payment acceptance. Through the iKassa app, merchants can accept NFC mobile phone payments and Tap on Phone is integrated into merchant terminal software, enabling the merchant to track and manage transactions. On average merchants perform three Tap on Phone transactions per day, registering average turnover growth of between 10%-15%.

Remote Internet Payments – Cards & More

Belarus is a small, emerging e-commerce market in Eurasia with people shopping online more frequently. A new legislation limiting tax-free purchases to €22 a month protects local retailers. Additionally, the government is actively considering further legislation to protect online shoppers and to enable the spread of e-commerce in its “Digital Economy Strategy” launched in 2015.

Internet Use – In 2023, there were 8.48 million internet users (92.6% of the population, including mobile and home connections), up from 67.3% in 2015. Belarusian internet users purchase in online shops more frequently (2021: 48%), and 50% of Belarussians use the internet for financial services. Online buyers use their PCs, notebooks, tablets, or smartphones. Thus, remote payments are initiated from various types of internet-capable devices.

As of 2022, there were an estimated 29,400 online stores in Belarus, up from 25,300 in 2018. In 2021, 53% of online stores were owned by private entrepreneurs and 47% by legal entities. The majority of online stores are registered in Minsk and Minsk Oblast. The Belarusians go shopping in foreign online stores, too. Around 16,000 economic entities are engaged in retail trade via online stores.

In 2021, the total value of B2C e-commerce was estimated at around $1.5 billion. According to national statistics, B2C e-commerce is equivalent to 6% of the total retail turnover in 2022. The number of e-commerce users is expected to amount to 4.5 million users by 2025.

9 - Communications in Belarus
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	GR 22/23	CAGR 5Y
Number of fixed telephone lines (000s)	4,290	4,239	4,179	4,147	4,160	0.31%	-0.82%
Fixed telephone lines per 100 inhabitants	45.6%	45.3%	45.2%	45.1%	45.4%	0.80%	-0.23%
Mobile phone subscribers (000s)	11,627	11,704	11,760	11,771	11,757	-0.11%	0.24%
Mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants	123.6%	125.2%	127.1%	127.9%	128.4%	0.37%	0.83%
Internet subscribers (000s)	13,054	13,160	13,447	13,636	13,826	1.39%	1.57%
Internet subscribers per 100 inhabitants	138.7%	140.8%	145.3%	148.2%	151.0%	1.89%	2.17%
Internet users per 100 inhabitants	81.2%	83.6%	85.4%	89.9%	92.6%	3.04%	3.21%
Source: National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus.

Cards on the Internet (CNP) – All cards with international brands are accepted in online shops once the merchant has signed an acceptance contract. Innovative banks plan to issue prepaid cards and virtual cards for internet use only.

Leading online shops in Belarus offer remote payments on cards based on security standards like SSL with CVC2/CVV2 code and 3D-Secure (Mastercard SecureCode, Verified-by-VISA). Further, web-based MOTO services are offered to Belarusian merchants by their acquirers.

In 2008, Priorbank joined forces with WebPay.by in the launch a project to accept bank cards for payment of goods and services on the internet. According to Priorbank, this was the first time Belarusian internet sites could accept VISA cards issued by any bank worldwide.

The Belarusian e-Payment Mix – Belarussians’ preferred payment methods are similar to the ones in Russia: YooMoney, QIWI Wallet, WebMoney, as well as the local Raschet. However, only 19% of the population use credit cards: VISA, Mastercard, and the local Belkart.

Remote Payments on the Mobile Internet – Since 2014, online buyers have started to use their smartphones for shopping on the mobile internet. Mobile online shops can be accessed by mobile internet, by mobile app, or by scanning a 2D QR-code displayed, for example, in a newspaper or at a bus station. Thus, remote mobile payments are executed by either using the e-payment page of the mobile shop or by using payment apps of a PSP or an acquirer.

Also, Belarusian merchants can download a payment app from their acquirer in order to initiate MOTO payments with cards and/or online direct debits. Leading merchants in Belarus are believed to consider their own mobile apps including loyalty functions (e.g. e-vouchers, discounts, outlet finder, QR-code scanning) in the future.

Mobile Payments – Overview 

As at end-2023, 128% of Belarusians have subscribed to a mobile phone, but only a few mobile payment services are provided by mobile network operators.

Since 2013, the next generation of mobile services has included new disruptive technologies (1D-barcodes, QR-code, Bluetooth BLE and NFC).

Mobile initiatives in Belarus are trialling new technologies either as initiating form factors to bridge to online shops on the internet (1D-barcodes, QR-code, NFC) or to enable contactless access to the retail POS outlet (1D-barcodes, QR-code, BLE, Bluetooth Low Energy, NFC Stickers, Mobile NFC Phones) e.g.:

• To enable access to online shops for any type of mobile devices (e.g. tablets, iPhones, Androids)
• To enable mobile services and payments initiated by consumers’ tablets or smartphones at ATMs, at vending machines, at smart posters and at POS terminals in retail outlets
• To enable small merchants’ tablets and smartphones by adding MPOS terminal devices for payment services.

The Belarusian m-Payment Mix – There are no official m-payment mix statistics, but PSP information indicates that the domestic m-payment mix is similar to the e-payment mix (see Remote Payments on the Internet section).

Mobile Payment Initiatives 

In 2024, the various European mobile payment initiatives can be grouped into

• Non-bank players like FinTechs, payment initiation service provider (PISPs), and account information service providers (AISPs) launch digital payment services beyond cards
• Innovative banks which launch mobile banking apps allowing for card-less in-app payments and payments on the internet
• Leading banks which pilot mobile HCE NFC payments with the card credentials stored-on-file in the cloud (HCE)
• Banks partnering with mobile network operators in order to offer mobile SIM SE NFC payments on cards with the card credentials stored in a secure element on SIM card of the mobile device
• Innovative retailers which offer their own apps with loyalty and payment functions to their consumers

SIM SE NFC Payments Pilot – In May 2013, Belgazprombank and mobile network operator MTS launched an NFC mobile payment service in Belarus, enabling subscribers to make payments with their NFC-capable smartphone across the country at merchants equipped to accept Mastercard PayPass contactless payments.

HCE NFC Payments Pilot – In April 2016, Priorbank launched contactless HCE NFC payments in Belarus. Customers of Priorbank could make contactless mobile payments on their Mastercard. Each transaction over BYR 200,000 (about $10) was confirmed by PIN. In June 2017, Priorbank added support for Visa cards to its Host Card Emulation (HCE) based mobile payments service.

Central Bank Digital Currencies (CDBC) – The Digital Cash Challenge 

Central bank digital currency (CBDC), also called digital fiat currency or digital base money, is a digital currency issued by a national central bank (NCB), rather than by a commercial bank. It is also a liability of the NCB and denominated in the sovereign currency, as is the case with physical banknotes and coins.

All CBDCs are under the authority of the respective national central bank, and they are part of the domestic cash payment ecosystem. Rather than a new currency, CBDC is a form of central bank electronic money that could be used by households and businesses to make payments. In addition, most CBDC implementations will likely not use or need any sort of distributed ledger such as a blockchain.

Unlike “retail CBDC,” which is generally designed as a central bank liability universally accessible to individuals and businesses within a jurisdiction’s financial system, “wholesale CBDC” refers to a digitized central bank liability designed for sizable (generally interbank) transactions, and for which access is limited to certain financial institutions.

National Central Banks (NCBs) have been providing trusted money to the public for hundreds of years as part of their public policy objectives. Trusted money is a public good. It offers a common unit of account, store of value and medium of exchange for the sale of goods and services and settlement of financial transactions. Providing cash for public use is an important tool for central banks. Yet the world is changing.

Even before COVID-19, cash use for payments was declining fast and convenient digital payments have grown enormously in volume and diversity. To evolve and pursue their public policy objectives in a digital world, central banks are actively researching the pros and cons of offering a digital currency to the public, a “general purpose” CBDC.

Central banks’ interest in CBDC has increased as a potential means of delivering their public policy objectives. Profound, ongoing changes across finance, technology, and society, as well as the recent COVID-19 crisis, provided additional impetus for the research of, and experimentation related to, CBDCs.

CBDC is a national digital currency issued by the central bank that is expected to replace or coexist with fiat money and hold the same value. Mobile money, on the other hand, utilises existing commercial banking-based accounting to manage customer wallet balances based on an exchange with cash or lines of credit and loans.

CBDC is a direct liability on the central bank as it is the main issuer of the currency, whereas digital money is the liability of commercial banks and other authorised financial institutions using funds on account. Although some implementation approaches propose that CBDC can be implemented in either an indirect or hybrid form, its liability remains on the respective national central bank.

National CBDC Initiatives

In 2017, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree that legalised cryptocurrencies and ICOs, making them tax-free for an extended period of five years.

In June 2020, Belarus’ commercial and state-owned banks received permission from the NBRB to issue digital tokens through an upcoming pilot programme. Belarus has adopted Decree No. 8, “On the Development of the Digital Economy,” giving the power to the NBRB to implement digital economy dynamics. The governmental framework creates the legal environment required for initial coin offerings, or ICOs, across Belarus. The pilot programme will run from January 1, 2021, to January 1, 2024.

In 2023, the National Bank of Belarus (NBB) initiated the creation of a demo version of the digital ruble platform, focusing on building the necessary infrastructure and conducting preliminary tests. By 2024, development efforts intensified, with the NBB selecting the open-source Hyperledger Fabric blockchain as the foundation for the CBDC platform. The state-owned Center of Bank Technologies is leading this initiative, actively recruiting backend developers proficient in Hyperledger Fabric and smart contract creation.

The NBB plans to commence pilot testing of the digital ruble with select legal entities, allowing businesses to engage in transactions using the new digital currency. A full-scale national rollout of the digital ruble is scheduled for 2026, aiming to integrate the CBDC into the broader financial system and make it accessible to the general public.

Unregulated Cryptocurrency Products – Background 

Regulators and national central banks are challenged by unregulated independent cryptocurrency products. Whereas CBDCs are under the authority of the central bank, almost all cryptocurrencies are decentralised, and not controlled or managed by any central authority.

Obviously, financial market authorities and the national central banks are not in favour of unregulated cryptocurrency products, and they see them as a systematic risk for the financial system. Their intention to regulate the respective cryptocurrency exchange platforms has gained momentum.

Cryptocurrencies, originally designed as a store of value, are digital assets, developed and maintained on decentralised blockchains, and they can be used as a medium of exchange or payment method. Bitcoin and Ethereum are the most popular forms of cryptocurrencies worldwide used by consumers and businesses for transactions.

As of 2022, over 400 million people worldwide used cryptocurrencies, with merchants and businesses in more sectors accepting it as a form of payment. The major payment schemes VISA and Mastercard, PayPal and along with a growing number of financial institutions, have launched services allowing consumers to purchase or use cryptocurrencies for a range of applications.

According to a 2022 Deloitte survey, around two-thirds (64%) of surveyed merchants indicated that their customers have significant interest in using digital currencies for payments, and 83% expect consumer interest in digital currencies for payments to increase or significantly increase over the next 12 months.

In addition, merchants are motivated by the prospect of enabling immediate access to funds (40% of respondents), taking advantage of blockchain-based innovations in decentralised digital finance (39%), and allowing in-house management of the revenue cycle/treasury/finance department (39%).

Over half (54%) of large retailers (with revenues of $500 million and up) have invested more than $1 million on enabling digital currency payments, while only 6% of small retailers (with revenues of under $10 million) did so.

A 2022 survey from Checkout.com found a sharp rise in people wanting to use cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, with 40% of 18-35-year-old consumers citing their desire to experiment with using crypto as a payment method, up from less than 30% in 2021. Meanwhile, over 80% of businesses say offering crypto has attracted new customers, leading to a decrease in chargebacks, while just over 60% have seen higher authorisation rates accepting crypto payments.

Current estimates put cryptocurrency ownership in Europe at around 18 million people.

In November 2020, Belarusbank announced a partnership with OTC broker Whitebird to float a cryptocurrency exchange. This project seeks to allow bank customers to purchase and sell cryptos using VISA cards, with the option of exchanging digital assets for fiat currencies like the US dollar, euro, and the Belarusian and Russian ruble.

In 2022, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree named “On the register of virtual wallet addresses and the circulation of cryptocurrency.” affirming the country’s formal support for the free circulation of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The decree intends to protect crypto investors from potential losses and to prevent unintentional involvement in activities prohibited by law. The decree provides a legal basis for Belarus Hi-Tech Park to establish and manage a register of crypto wallet addresses used in illegal activities. The decree document specifically details the process and standards for seizing cryptocurrency from criminals by the government.

To attract investment, the Decree No. 8 “On the Development of Digital Economy” (2017) provided tax exemptions for cryptocurrency-related activities until January 1, 2023. These incentives have been extended, allowing crypto firms to operate tax-free until 2025. However, in July 2023, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced plans to ban peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency transactions to curb fraudulent activities. The proposed legislation aims to restrict crypto exchanges to registered platforms, thereby reducing the misuse of digital assets.

Market Size and Dynamics

Cards in Issue

Payment cards are used for retail transactions as well as for salary payments. The use of Belarusian cards, although low, has increased rapidly in recent years.

With a rise to 19.2 million at end-2023, cards issued grew by 5.09% between 2019 and 2023, lifting cards per capita from 0.36 in 2006 to 2.10 in 2023.

Most of the growth came from BelKart, with numbers issued rising from less than 0.5 million at end-2008 to 6.5 million at end-2023, accounting for 33.79% of the cards total. BelKart cards experienced a significant decline in 2018, decreasing by 24.06% to 4.3 million cards, or 28.64% of the total card numbers. The fall in 2019 was largely due to consumers preferring internationally branded cards to engage with e-commerce. The increase over 2022 is largely due to efforts to promote BelKart in place of VISA and Mastercard. The majority of debit cards in Belarus have been issued in connection with payroll schemes. In 2021, there had been 1,900,000 BelKart cards co-badged Maestro.

At end-2021, more than 11.9 million cards issued were branded VISA (5.6 million), or Mastercard (5.7 million), accounting for 76.77% of the card total. No update was provided for 2022 and 2023.

As well as BelKart, there are Neftekart fuel cards and others like American Express. From April 2014, Belarusbank and other Belarusian banks issued BelKart cards co-badged Maestro.

On March 19, 2022, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Belarus being a major ally of Russia, VISA, and Mastercard suspended operations with several Belarus banks for transactions outside of Belarus using VISA and Mastercard cards, which also meant services like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay were made unavailable.

However, this decision did not affect the operation of bank cards used within Belarus due to the fact that in Belarus all payments go through the national processing centre, BPC, and are independent of foreign payment systems. As of November 2024, Visa and Mastercard have not lifted their suspension of operations in Belarus.

10 - Cards Issued in Belarus
(000s)	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	GR 22/23	CAGR 5Y
Cards in circulation	15,528.0	15,486.7	15,730.2	18,075.5	19,237.8	6.43%	5.09%
- thereof Belkart cards	4,663.7	4,339.2	4,422.0	5,300.0	6,500.0	22.64%	8.61%
- thereof MC/VISA cards	10,864.3	11,147.5	11,308.2	12,775.5	12,737.8	-0.29%	3.53%
Payment cards per capita - BY	1.65	1.66	1.70	1.96	2.10	6.95%	5.71%
Payment cards per capita - EA10 Total	1.50	1.65	1.82	2.09	2.42	15.79%	11.57%
Note: cards in circulation include cards branded Belkart, Mastercard, VISA and American Express.
Source: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus.

Card Fraud

Card fraud is one of the most fascinating aspects of the payments industry, not least because it is relentless and mutating. EMV implementation and 3D-Secure, combined with Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), have done much to reduce domestic losses from lost and stolen cards in Europe. However, the war against fraud losses and the changing face of fraud continues to be a threat to the payments industry, including Belarus.

The global card fraud challenges are Card-Not-Present fraud (CNP), cross-border fraud, and counterfeiting on non-EMV cards. CNP fraud accounted for around 60% of the total value of card fraud losses in 2022. From 2017, a new payment fraud category is fraud losses on contactless card payments. International card fraud continues to be smaller in scale than domestic card abuse but is proportionately far more common. And of course, fraudulent cross-border transactions on cards continue to grow on all purchase channels.

Losses from card fraud on the internet and cross-border fraud on domestic cards have grown significantly. Following EMV implementation, card fraud has moved increasingly to countries where POS terminals or online shops have not yet been migrated to EMV and SCA, respectively, and to cross-border fraud with compromised cards.

The breakdown of card fraud losses by method of compromise already indicates the importance of distinguishing between domestic and cross-border fraud losses. The method of compromise covers the means by which fraudsters obtain payment cards or card details. Notable methods of compromise in a complex payment world are CNP fraud based on theft of card credentials and card lost and stolen fraud followed by growing ID fraud and by cross-counterfeit fraud.

The main method of compromise responsible for losses in many European countries is now the theft of card credentials. A high proportion of these card fraud losses are caused by the growth in e-commerce, and still the lack of use of Strong Customer Authentication methods such as 3D-Secure.

In a post data-breach world, identity information, payment credentials, account credentials and responses to security questions are widely available for purchase in bulk. Complete fraud exploits and zero-day attacks are also easily available on the black market for outright purchase or as a hosted / fully managed service.

In the digital payments world and having the changing face of fraud in mind, there are significant challenges for card issuing banks, payment service providers and their supporting processors.

Credit card fraud prevention measures taken have been pushing 3D-Secure, updating bank fraud prevention systems and real-time, implementing more rule-based fraud control mechanisms. Also, issuers offer PIN selection at ATMs and SMS notification to inform cardholders about the use of their credit card.

Fraudsters are constantly building new schemes using the current agenda to not arouse suspicion among ordinary users of payment instruments. In 2022, Fraudsters were calling holders or sending information messages on behalf of banks in messengers about the possible blocking of the bank’s mobile application in official stores with a recommendation to install a new application on their mobile phones. Usually, under the guise of a banking application, attackers install a remote access application on citizens’ mobile devices and gain full control over their accounts and cash. The most popular among these applications are AnyDesk and TeamViewer. Another option for a fraud scheme after installing remote access programs to the holder’s phone is the use of mobile banking of banks in Belarus. After gaining access to your bank mobile app accounts, attackers open virtual cards and use them as an intermediate link for the withdrawal of funds earned by criminal means. The holders may not even be aware that cards have been issued in their name by any bank.

In 2022, attackers actively used registration fraud scheme loans. There are various algorithms aimed at obtaining personal data from clients for further processing of a credit line. Also, attackers posing as employees of banks may ask you to install special applications on your phone for better protection – the remote access programs mentioned above. There are also known cases of calls from pseudo-law enforcement officers. Unknown how As a rule, they address the holder by first and last name, but at the same time specify additional personal data: passport identification number, place, and length of work, level wages, etc., so they receive enough personal data to process loan. In case of loss of vigilance and following a plan developed in advance by scammers’ algorithm, citizens are forced to repay the loan issued to them.

In 2022, cases of using a fraud scheme related to dating sites have also become more frequent. Attackers send holders phishing links for purchasing theater or cinema tickets. If the client goes to the given link and agrees with the payment, a significant amount is debited from his account.

In 2022, the number of detected fraudulent cases (cards) increased relative to 2021 by 14% but compared to 2021 the total number of successful fraudulent transactions reported to international payment systems decreased by 15%, and the average amount of a fraudulent transaction amounted to $42, which corresponds to the same figure in 2021. The reduction in the total amount of successful fraudulent transactions reported to international payment systems due to changes in the geopolitical situation at the beginning of 2022 and the reorientation of attackers to use payment services registered on the territory of the Republic of Belarus.

As of 2022, CNP comprised 60% of payment card fraud in Belarus (compared to 95% in 2018), followed by account takeover at 40%. No update was provided for 2023.

Card Use

The use of payment cards in Belarus, particularly debit cards, has increased in recent years. Company salaries are increasingly paid via debit card.

Though no consistent figures are available for the number of ATM withdrawals or POS transactions on cards, NBRB figures for the value of transactions show ATM withdrawals accounting for 32.54% of total transaction value and POS payments for 67.46%, an increase of 9.59% for POS values in one year, largely due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic restricting cash use and pushing up use of non-cash methods at the POS.

However, payments may account for a much higher proportion of the number of transactions, as the figures from BelKart indicate. Commenting on Q2 2024, BelKart said “cashless payments made up 63.70% of the total number of BelKart transactions and 45% of the total BelKart transactions value processed.” (see Table 4).

11 - Card Use in Belarus
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	GR 22/23	CAGR 5Y
Cards in circulation (000s)	15,528.0	15,486.7	15,730.2	18,075.5	19,237.8	6.43%	5.09%
Ø payment value per card per year (in $)	2,241.6	2,306.7	2,463.8	2,549.8	2,536.3	-0.53%	5.40%
Cash withdrawals (BYR bn)	32.80	34.67	35.34	42.71	47.65	11.55%	9.79%
- in dollars ($bn)	15.68	14.22	13.88	16.30	15.88	-2.62%	1.60%
Payments (BYR bn)	39.99	52.46	63.32	78.03	98.79	26.60%	27.14%
- in dollars ($bn)	19.12	21.51	24.87	29.79	32.92	10.52%	17.65%
Total transactions (BYR bn)	72.8	87.1	98.7	120.7	146.4	21.28%	19.70%
- in dollars ($bn)	34.81	35.72	38.76	46.09	48.79	5.87%	10.76%
Total card transactions value ($) per capita	3,698.9	3,820.7	4,187.3	5,009.3	5,329.2	6.38%	11.42%
Note: payments include ‘other non-cash operations'.
Note: the Belarusian Ruble was redenominated by the NBRB on 1st July 2016.
Source: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus.

Card Use per Capita

In 2023, the total card transaction value per capita accounted for $5,329.2, up by 6.38% from 2022. NBRB does not report details on card use per capita by number.

Debit Card Use

NBRB does not report details on debit cards by number and debit card use.

Credit Card Use

NBRB does not report details on credit cards by number and the credit cards use.

Leading Card Issuers

Belarusbank, the market leader, was estimated to have 6.2 million bank cards in as at end-2021. It retained around 37% of the market in terms of cards issued. All new cards issued have an added contactless function. In 2020, the bank issued around 127,000 EMV-enabled Belkart cards.

Belarusbank offers VISA Electron, Maestro and BelKart-M debit card programmes denominated in Belarus roubles. In April 2014, the bank launched a brand-new payment card on the Belarusian market – a BelKart-card co-badged Maestro for international use.

BelKart product line includes: BelKart-Standard, BelKart Studencheskaya (for students), BelKart Detskaya (for children), BelKart Photokarta (individual design), BelKart Sberegatelnaya and BelKart Agrarnaya (both for savings). In 2019 BelKart began issuing EMV-enabled cards in conjunction with Russian payment scheme MIR.

VISA Classic and Mastercard Standard cards are available in rouble, dollar or euro denominations, as are the top of the range VISA and Mastercard Gold cards. Variations in the form of VISA Electron include a version for pensioners and VISA Electron ‘Lady Cards’, the latter offer discounts at selected shops.

In 2019, together with FinTech start-up Cashew, Belarusbank launched a QR code payment service, allowing merchants to accept Belarusbank card payments through the bank’s mobile app by scanning a QR code.

Priorbank, like other private banks, Priorbank issues BelKart cards as well as VISA and Mastercard cards.

In December 2017, Priorbank reported 970,000 cards in circulation. In 2014, it has started to issue Mastercard Worldwide debit cards allowing contactless payments: Mastercard Standard PayPass both in BYR and in EUR.

In December 2020, Priorbank launched the “Bright” card with a 1% refund from non-cash purchases in the digital environment. In 2021, there was a 45% increase in fee income from card-to-card transfers. In 2023, the volume of currency exchange transactions across all channels increased by 12.5% compared to 2022. This growth can be attributed to the usage of a flexible exchange rate system tailored to the specific channels of transactions. Furthermore, Priorbank maintained its leading position in the market of non-cash currency exchange transactions, commanding a share of over 32%.

In payment cards, , the number of bank payment cards in Priorbank’s portfolio increased by 18%, totaling 2.1 million active cards. Priorbank maintained its leading position in the Republic of Belarus market in terms of issuing valid cards, capturing a share of 11.2%. Priorbank continues to be the leader in the consumer lending market, with its share in the credit card market increasing from 37% to 45%. In 2023, the share of payment transactions conducted via mobile devices averaged 14.5%, with the number of customers using contactless payment services reaching 117,000 people.

The share of non-cash payments on card transactions rose to 72% in 2023 from 70% in 2022 surpassing the market average. Also, the volume of non-cash transactions on individual cards increased from BYN 8.0 billion in 2022 to BYN 10.0 billion in 2023. Priorbank also occupies a leading position in terms of the total turnover of card transactions – according to the results of 2021, Priorbank registered total turnover of BYN 15.6 billion, of which BYN 10.5 billion came from operations of non-cash payment for goods and services (+23%) and BYN 5.0 billion from cash withdrawal operations (-1%). At the same time, non-cash payments on the Internet account for 17% of the total turnover of payments.

At the beginning of 2021, Priorbank announced the possibility of issuing a BelKart-MIR card, with intersystem transactions implemented by the end of the year, allowing clients to pay at MIR devices in Russia and partner countries. In all ATMs of Priorbank, it is possible to make transfers from any card of a Belarusian bank to any card of a Belarusian bank. During 2022, new E2E services were implemented, including Visa Alias P2P payments with integration with Visa API, Koshelek Pay for Mastercard cardholders, projects for the implementation of Belcard Pay payment services, and P2P transfers to Mir payment system cards were launched. In addition, a credit card with a grace period was launched with the Mastercard payment system.

Recent Priorbank Background – In 2013, Priorbank said it issued 9,000 new credit cards. Previously, in its annual report for 2012, Priorbank said it occupied first place in the credit cards market, with market share of 26% compared with the previous year’s 30.7%. The bank issued 14,000 new credit cards in 2012, down from 23,000 new credit cards in 2011, but gave no update on total numbers. As at end-2011, it had issued 107,100 credit cards.

The figures indicate a decline in the card portfolios, as Priorbank reported 862,000 cards issued, of which 151,000 were credit cards, as at end-2010. In 2009, the bank reported a total of 826,000 cards, including 164,000 credit cards.

Gross turnover on Priorbank plastic cards in 2013 amounted to €2 billion (2012: €1.4 billion, almost double the level of €761 million achieved in 2011). Cashless payments for goods and services were €465 million (2012: €290 million, 2011: €124 million) and cash withdrawal transactions were €1.53 billion (2012: €1.13 billion, 2011: €637 million).

Out of 60 million transactions in 2013, 46 million were non-cash payments for goods and services (2012: 50 million, of which 32 million were non-cash payments).

The main innovation in 2012 was issuance of Russian rouble-denominated VISA cards. Several campaigns were also launched to drive card use at the POS.

In early 2011, Priorbank and DLC Mobil Auto Help Company launched a co-branded programme, ‘Mastercard Autohelp’, which offers cardholders discounts and preferences with 300 participants and more than 1,000 points of sales. By end-2011, Mastercard Autohelp was attached to the loyalty programme ‘Refuel Your Car Beneficially’, launched by Belorusneft, which offers bonuses and discounts on the price of fuel at Belorusneft filling stations.

Also, in 2011, Priorbank launched co-branded programme, ‘VISA Classic TravelCard’, which combines a VISA Classic card and loyalty programmes provided by LLC TEZ TOUR and the insurance company Kupala.

During 2009, Priorbank launched a new card account called ‘Pensionny Account’ which allows customers to receive their pension payments on a Priorbank card. At year-end, it had opened 26,000 accounts for customers who receive pensions.

In December 2008 Priorbank signed an agreement with the hypermarket-discounter group Euroopt to accept card payments. Priorbank services card payments in four of the six hypermarkets in Minsk.

Priorbank has worked closely with Velcom, the mobile network operator, to develop mutual customer services and improve business processes. In 2008 Priorbank launched a revolving credit card programme for Velcom clients, offering the cards free of charge and without confirmation of income. The solvency of the client was evaluated by Velcom based on his/her payment history under criteria set by Priorbank. The bank also launched a service providing automatic payment of Velcom invoices by charging them to debit or credit cards issued by Priorbank.

BPS-Sberbank Belarus claims to be the second-largest card issuer in Belarus with a market share of 8%, fourth largest in the number of ATMs with a market share of 11.3%, and fourth-largest in the number of POS terminals with market share of 9.55%. As of 2020, BPS-Sberbank had issued 1.2 million cards, including 784,500 contactless cards. The share of premium cards comprised 90.8% of its card base. BPS-Sberbank is a member of Mastercard, VISA, American Express, and the national payment system Belkart.

In 2019, BPS-Sberbank started experimental use of the contactless fare payment system using contactless cards on road transport in the city of Minsk. The service then became available at all trains of the Belarusian railway within the 1st fare rate zone. In 2019, the number of payments in this service doubled and reached the average monthly value over 2 million transactions per month. The service was used by holders of 208 banks from 83 countries of the world. The total number of payments reached 30 million by the end of 2019.

In February 2022, BPS-Sberbank began issuing premium BelKart payment cards in classic, gold, and platinum formats, allowing cardholders to send P2P transfers to other BelKart users and outside Belarus in devices connected to Russia’s MIR payment scheme.

In April 2022, BPS-Sberbank began issuance of BelKart virtual cards for online payments, which work with the Russian MIR system. The cards were made available through the bank’s mobile app or through its internet banking portal.

Belagroprombank rose to estimated 1.55 million cards issued in 2021. Cards are branded BelKart, Maestro, Electron, Mastercard, or VISA. The Bank provides a wide range of card products, including VISA payWave, Mastercard PayPass products, VISA Money Transfer, and Mastercard MoneySend technologies.

Belinvestbank cards issued rose to an estimated 1.25 million in 2021. The Bank provides a wide range of card products branded BelKart, Maestro, Electron, Mastercard, or VISA.

Bank BelVEB reported an estimated 305,000 cards at end-2021. In 2010, the bank had 127,000 debit cards and 15,000 credit cards. Most of the debit cards are linked to payroll programmes. BelVEB launched personal and corporate euro-denominated cards in 2010 and issued its first BelKart-M card.

It issues international payment cards for accounts in roubles, USD and euros as well as BelKart rouble account cards. VISA chip cards were issued to Bank BelVEB OJSC and its partner banks in the Self-Service Banking System (SBS).

Bank BelVEB holds the status of a principal member of Mastercard (since 1994), VISA International (since 1995), and BelKart. In addition, it licensed to issue plastic bank cards and provide card-related services and card processing. At the beginning of 2018, Bank BelVEB started issuing VISA Infinite cards.

Home Credit, the consumer finance subsidiary of PPF Group of Czech Republic, claimed No 1 status in consumer lending in Belarus in mid-2012, with 195,954 active clients and 38% market share. Home Credit operates in most of the major Belarus cities and towns, with more than 3,000 distribution points. It began activities in Belarus in 2007. Home Credit disposed of its Ukrainian company in 2011. In July 2016, Home Credit reported the transformation of its Belarusian business from bank status to a Non-Banking Credit Institution. In 2018, Alfa Bank acquired a majority stake in Home Credit Belarus.

International Money Transfers

Given the important role of remittances in the Eurasian countries, most banks in Belarus offer some form of money transfer service, especially for transfers between Belarus and Russia.

12 - Personal Remittances in Belarus
($million)	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	GR 22/23
Personal Remittances, receivable	1,112.7	1,061.1	1,049.8	732.2	882.4	1,146.4	949.3	-17.19%
Net compensation of employees, receivable:	467.4	479.3	448.8	302.5	337.3	449.7	491.7	9.33%
Compensation of employees	608.5	864.5	817.8	572.5	605.0	768.5	873.9	13.72%
- less taxes and social contributions related to temporary employment	29.5	225.6	214.6	153.1	161.3	208.0	238.4	14.62%
- less travel related to temporary employment	111.6	159.6	154.4	116.9	106.4	110.8	143.8	29.86%
Personal transfers, receivable:	645.3	581.3	601.0	429.7	545.0	696.7	457.6	-34.32%
of which workers' remittances	523.8	466.3	492.3	368.9	464.6	610.6	364.8	-40.25%
of which other personal transfers between resident and nonresident households	121.5	115.0	108.7	60.8	80.4	86.1	92.7	7.69%
Capital transfers between households, receivable	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	-
Personal Remittances, payable	124.6	141.5	166.5	183.7	219.6	216.2	189.8	-12.19%
Net compensation of employees, payable:	18.5	25.8	27.8	23.7	28.5	27.4	28.9	5.53%
Compensation of employees	32.7	44.2	46.8	40.7	49.1	47.3	50.7	7.17%
- less taxes and social contributions related to temporary employment	4.0	4.7	4.9	4.4	5.4	5.3	6.1	15.71%
- less travel related to temporary employment	10.2	13.7	14.5	12.6	15.2	14.7	15.7	7.17%
Personal transfers, payable:	105.1	115.7	139.1	160.0	191.1	188.8	160.9	-14.76%
of which workers' remittances	49.5	52.3	69.9	79.7	95.1	81.9	64.7	-20.94%
of which other personal transfers between resident and nonresident households	55.6	63.4	69.2	80.9	96.0	106.9	96.2	-10.02%
Capital transfers between households, payable	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	-
Note: figures for 2018 and 2019 have been restated.
Source: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB).

WorldRemit – In February 2017, WorldRemit launched new money transfer corridors across Russia in collaboration with the Russian Payment System CONTACT. Now, the service has been scaled up to CIS-markets. WorldRemit users can now send money to be collected as cash pick up at more than 120 POS in Belarus.

With the WorldRemit app or website, people in more than 50 countries can send instant, secure money transfers to more than 125 destinations.

Belinvestbank reported that in 2018, the number of card-to-card transfers (P2P) in Belarusian roubles via remote channels grew by 1.2 times in terms of the number and 1.3 times in terms of amount, compared to 2017. The number of transfers to other cards increased by 2.5 times both by the number and amount, to 548,000 and BYN 40.7 million, respectively. The bank introduced the KoronoPay Express money transfer service and KopilkaBIB money transfer services in 2018.

Data Tables

Key Statistics 2023
Population	9.15 million, 2.10 cards per capita
Cards	19.24 million, thereof 6.5 million BelKart cards.
Card Transactions	All cards: value BYR 120.7 billion ($48.89 billion)
POS Terminals	203,002 POS terminals in 148,310 card-accepting outlets
POS Payments	All cards: value BYR 98.79 billion ($32.92 billion)
ATMs	4,165
ATM Withdrawals	All cards: value BYR 47.65 billion ($15.88 billion)

Market Overview
Payment Organisation	JSC ‘Banking Processing Center’ (BPC)
Domestic Card Brand	BelKart cards, some banks co-badge Belkart with Maestro.
Market Structure	Cards issued reached 2.10 per capita in 2023, up from 0.36 in 2006. Debit cards predominate, and the BelKart scheme accounted for 34% of all cards. Only about 5% of cards issued are credit/charge cards. Other than card payments, internet and mobile banking is spreading rapidly. In 2023, ATM withdrawals comprised 32.54% of total transaction value and POS payments for 67.46%, an increase of 27% for POS values in one year, largely due to the lingering impact of the Covid-19 pandemic restricting cash use and pushing up the use of non-cash methods at the POS. In February 2010, NBRB (National Bank of the Republic of Belarus) and CBRF, the Russian central bank, agreed on joint use of payment cards on their respective national payment systems in Belarus and Russia. Nearly 45.76% of banking sector assets are held by the two biggest banks, both of which are state-controlled. The market share of foreign-owned banks accounted for 22.76% of total bank assets (state-owned banks: 50.76%). Belarusbank issues 39.0% of all bank cards in Belarus and operates 30.5% of the national ATM network. Priorbank, owned by Raiffeisen Bank International (A), is the only western-owned bank, and several Russian banks are present.
Notable Market Trends	Rollout of contactless cards and POS terminals, Belkart rollout, mobile HCE NFC pilots, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay
Major Card Issuers	Belarusbank, Belagroprombank, BPS-Sberbank Belarus, Priorbank, Belinvestbank.
Major Card Acquirers	Belarusbank, Belagroprombank, BPS-Sberbank Belarus, Priorbank, Belinvestbank.
Major Card Processors	JSC ‘Banking Processing Centre’, Priorbank, Bank BelVEB.

1 - Belarusian Banking System
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	GR 22/23	CAGR 5Y
Banks registered by the NBRB	28	27	27	22	22	0.00%	-4.71%
- thereof licensed to conduct banking transactions	24	24	24	21	21	0.00%	-2.64%
- thereof banks wholly foreign-owned	4	4	4	3	2	-33.33%	-12.94%
- thereof banks with foreign ownership over 50%	10	11	11	11	12	9.09%	3.71%
- thereof banks with a foreign stake	19	19	19	16	16	0.00%	-3.38%
Source: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus.
Note: 2022 figures are for 01/01/2023.

2 - Main Banks in Belarus end-2023
	Ownership	Assets BYR bn	Assets € bn	Market share %
Belarusbank	State: 99.11%, local authorities	43,240	13.32	33.88%
Belagroprombank	State: 99.41%,	15,162	4.67	11.88%
Priorbank	RBI Group (A): 87.74%, State: 6.31%, Individuals: 4.83%, Other: 1.12%	8,806	2.71	6.90%
BPS-Sberbank Belarus	Sberbank (RUS): 100%	5,231	1.61	4.10%
Belinvestbank	State, local authorities	5,234	1.61	4.10%
Bank BelVEB	Vnesheconombank Group (RUS): 97.52% ; Others; 2.48%	5,048	1.56	3.95%
Belgazprombank	Gazprom (RUS): 49.82%, Gazprombank (RUS): 49.82%, others: <1	4,896	1.51	3.84%
Alfa-Bank	ABH Belarus (CY): 64.5%, Alfa-Bank (RUS): 30.8%, Alfa-Bank (treasury share): 4.7%	4,682	1.44	3.67%
MTBank	MTB Investments (CY): 99.13%, others: 0.87%	3,511	1.08	2.75%
VTB Bank (Belarus)	VTB Group (RUS): 99.99%	2,938	0.91	2.30%
Bank Dabrabyt	State	1,148	0.35	0.90%
other banks		27,742	8.55	21.73%
Total assets		127,638	39.33	100.00%
Note: market shares were calculated using a total assets figure of BYR 104.88 trillion for end-2022.
Note: individual banks’ asset figures may differ from those given by the NBRB.
Belinvestbank stopped operation from June 2022
Bank Dabrabyt asset was freezed in 2022

3 - Average Exchange Rates
	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
1 € in BYR	2.4054	2.3418	2.7873	2.8950	2.7529	3.2455
1 $ in BYR	2.0366	2.0914	2.4390	2.5456	2.6199	3.0012
Note: the Belarusian Ruble was redenominated by the NBRB on 1st July 2016.
Source: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB). Yearbooks research.

4 - BelKart Quarterly Figures
	Q2 2019	Q4 2020	Q1 2022	Q2 2023	Q2 2024	GR Q2-23/Q2-24
Belkart cards in circulation	5,412,835	4,239,247	4,412,458	5,800,000	7,000,000	20.69%
- share of all Belarusian cards	35.4%	27.4%	26.51%	32.09%	36.39%	13.40%
ATMs serving Belkart cards	4,194	4,302	4,308	4,247	4,165	-1.93%
- share of all Belarusian ATMs	98.0%	98.1%	99.1%	100.0%	98.1%	-1.93%
Kiosks serving Belkart cards	2,971	2,617	2,383	2,226	1,968	-11.59%
Cashpoints serving Belkart cards	2,894	2,729	2,553	2,436	2,436	0.00%
Note: the Belarusian Ruble was redenominated by the NBRB on 1st July 2016.
Source:BelKart.

5 - Leading Card Issuers in Belarus
Domestic Issuers	Issued Card Brands	Owned by
Belarusbank	Mastercard, VISA; Electron; BelKart	State: 99.11%, local authorities
Belagroprombank	Mastercard, VISA; Electron; BelKart	State: 99.41%,
Priorbank	Mastercard, VISA; BelKart	RBI Group (A): 87.74%, State: 6.31%, Individuals: 4.83%, Other: 1.12%
BPS-Sberbank Belarus	Mastercard, VISA; BelKart	Sberbank (RUS): 100%
Belinvestbank	Mastercard, VISA; Electron; BelKart	State, local authorities
Bank BelVEB	Mastercard, VISA; BelKart	Vnesheconombank Group (RUS): 97.52% ; Others; 2.48%
Belgazprombank	Mastercard, VISA; BelKart; UnionPay	Gazprom (RUS): 49.82%, Gazprombank (RUS): 49.82%, others: <1
VTB Bank (Belarus)	Mastercard, VISA; BelKart	VTB Group (RUS): 99.99%
Alfa-Bank	Mastercard, VISA, BelKart	ABH Belarus (CY): 64.5%, Alfa-Bank (RUS): 30.8%, Alfa-Bank (treasury share): 4.7%
other banks	Mastercard, VISA; Electron; BelKart	foreign owners, state
Note: Belgazprombank began issuing UnionPay in Q1 2019.
Source: PCM research.

6 - Leading Acquirers in Belarus
Domestic Acquirers	Acceptance Brands offered	Owned by
Belarusbank	Mastercard, VISA, AmExp, UnionPay; Debit Mastercard, VISA Debit, Electron; BelKart	State: 99.11%, local authorities
Belagroprombank	Mastercard, VISA; Debit Mastercard, VISA Debit, Electron; BelKart	State: 99.41%,
Priorbank	Mastercard, VISA; Debit Mastercard, VISA Debit, Electron; BelKart	RBI Group (A): 87.74%, State: 6.31%, Individuals: 4.83%, Other: 1.12%
BPS-Sberbank Belarus	Mastercard, VISA, AmExp, UnionPay; Debit Mastercard, VISA Debit, Electron; BelKart	Sberbank (RUS): 100%
Belinvestbank	Mastercard, VISA, JCB; Debit Mastercard, VISA Debit, Electron; BelKart	State, local authorities
Bank BelVEB	Mastercard, VISA; Debit Masterard, VISA Debit, Electron; BelKart	Vnesheconombank Group (RUS): 97.52% ; Others; 2.48%
other banks	Mastercard, VISA; Debit Masterard, VISA Debit, Electron; BelKart	foreign owners, state
Note: all acquirers have own PSP services or co-operate with PSP partners.
Source: PCM research

7 - ATMs in Belarus
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	GR 22/23	CAGR 5Y
ATMs with cash function	4,294	4,387	4,345	4,247	4,165	-1.93%	-0.40%
# ATM Terminals per 1m capita - Belarus	456.3	469.2	469.4	461.6	454.9	-1.45%	0.19%
# ATM Terminals per 1m capita - EA10 total	728.9	713.6	698.7	679.4	706.3	3.96%	-0.17%
Source: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB).

8 - POS Terminals in Belarus
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	GR 22/23	CAGR 5Y
Self-Service and reference terminals (infokiosks)	3,080	2,827	2,827	2,226	1,968	-11.59%	-8.70%
Cash-paying offices	2,781	2,767	2,767	2,436	2,469	1.35%	-4.48%
Card-accepting outlets	128,015	124,947	128,000	141,854	148,310	4.55%	4.10%
POS Payment terminals	173,233	168,927	160,265	191,078	203,002	6.24%	4.78%
# POS Terminals per 1m capita - Belarus	18,409.0	18,067.7	17,315.6	20,768.0	22,171.5	6.76%	5.40%
# POS Terminals per 1m capita - EA10 total	15,041.9	17,950.0	19,042.0	21,172.0	23,259.9	9.86%	12.48%
Note: “cash-paying offices” are bank branches, agencies and post offices.
Source: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB).

9 - Communications in Belarus
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	GR 22/23	CAGR 5Y
Number of fixed telephone lines (000s)	4,290	4,239	4,179	4,147	4,160	0.31%	-0.82%
Fixed telephone lines per 100 inhabitants	45.6%	45.3%	45.2%	45.1%	45.4%	0.80%	-0.23%
Mobile phone subscribers (000s)	11,627	11,704	11,760	11,771	11,757	-0.11%	0.24%
Mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants	123.6%	125.2%	127.1%	127.9%	128.4%	0.37%	0.83%
Internet subscribers (000s)	13,054	13,160	13,447	13,636	13,826	1.39%	1.57%
Internet subscribers per 100 inhabitants	138.7%	140.8%	145.3%	148.2%	151.0%	1.89%	2.17%
Internet users per 100 inhabitants	81.2%	83.6%	85.4%	89.9%	92.6%	3.04%	3.21%
Source: National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus.

10 - Cards Issued in Belarus
(000s)	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	GR 22/23	CAGR 5Y
Cards in circulation	15,528.0	15,486.7	15,730.2	18,075.5	19,237.8	6.43%	5.09%
- thereof Belkart cards	4,663.7	4,339.2	4,422.0	5,300.0	6,500.0	22.64%	8.61%
- thereof MC/VISA cards	10,864.3	11,147.5	11,308.2	12,775.5	12,737.8	-0.29%	3.53%
Payment cards per capita - BY	1.65	1.66	1.70	1.96	2.10	6.95%	5.71%
Payment cards per capita - EA10 Total	1.50	1.65	1.82	2.09	2.42	15.79%	11.57%
Note: cards in circulation include cards branded Belkart, Mastercard, VISA and American Express.
Source: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus.

11 - Card Use in Belarus
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	GR 22/23	CAGR 5Y
Cards in circulation (000s)	15,528.0	15,486.7	15,730.2	18,075.5	19,237.8	6.43%	5.09%
Ø payment value per card per year (in $)	2,241.6	2,306.7	2,463.8	2,549.8	2,536.3	-0.53%	5.40%
Cash withdrawals (BYR bn)	32.80	34.67	35.34	42.71	47.65	11.55%	9.79%
- in dollars ($bn)	15.68	14.22	13.88	16.30	15.88	-2.62%	1.60%
Payments (BYR bn)	39.99	52.46	63.32	78.03	98.79	26.60%	27.14%
- in dollars ($bn)	19.12	21.51	24.87	29.79	32.92	10.52%	17.65%
Total transactions (BYR bn)	72.8	87.1	98.7	120.7	146.4	21.28%	19.70%
- in dollars ($bn)	34.81	35.72	38.76	46.09	48.79	5.87%	10.76%
Total card transactions value ($) per capita	3,698.9	3,820.7	4,187.3	5,009.3	5,329.2	6.38%	11.42%
Note: payments include ‘other non-cash operations'.
Note: the Belarusian Ruble was redenominated by the NBRB on 1st July 2016.
Source: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus.

12 - Personal Remittances in Belarus
($million)	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	GR 22/23
Personal Remittances, receivable	1,112.7	1,061.1	1,049.8	732.2	882.4	1,146.4	949.3	-17.19%
Net compensation of employees, receivable:	467.4	479.3	448.8	302.5	337.3	449.7	491.7	9.33%
Compensation of employees	608.5	864.5	817.8	572.5	605.0	768.5	873.9	13.72%
- less taxes and social contributions related to temporary employment	29.5	225.6	214.6	153.1	161.3	208.0	238.4	14.62%
- less travel related to temporary employment	111.6	159.6	154.4	116.9	106.4	110.8	143.8	29.86%
Personal transfers, receivable:	645.3	581.3	601.0	429.7	545.0	696.7	457.6	-34.32%
of which workers' remittances	523.8	466.3	492.3	368.9	464.6	610.6	364.8	-40.25%
of which other personal transfers between resident and nonresident households	121.5	115.0	108.7	60.8	80.4	86.1	92.7	7.69%
Capital transfers between households, receivable	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	-
Personal Remittances, payable	124.6	141.5	166.5	183.7	219.6	216.2	189.8	-12.19%
Net compensation of employees, payable:	18.5	25.8	27.8	23.7	28.5	27.4	28.9	5.53%
Compensation of employees	32.7	44.2	46.8	40.7	49.1	47.3	50.7	7.17%
- less taxes and social contributions related to temporary employment	4.0	4.7	4.9	4.4	5.4	5.3	6.1	15.71%
- less travel related to temporary employment	10.2	13.7	14.5	12.6	15.2	14.7	15.7	7.17%
Personal transfers, payable:	105.1	115.7	139.1	160.0	191.1	188.8	160.9	-14.76%
of which workers' remittances	49.5	52.3	69.9	79.7	95.1	81.9	64.7	-20.94%
of which other personal transfers between resident and nonresident households	55.6	63.4	69.2	80.9	96.0	106.9	96.2	-10.02%
Capital transfers between households, payable	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	-
Note: figures for 2018 and 2019 have been restated.
Source: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB).