How to connect to ‘cash-out’ service: Bank of Russia’s recommendations
The regulator has drawn up a step-by-step instruction to help banks and merchants be properly prepared for rendering the ‘cash-out’ service, concluding required agreements, training staff, and updating software.
The opportunity to receive cash at the cash-desk of a retail store, petrol station or other trade and service outlet when paying with a bank card has been available in Russia since 2019. This service is currently provided by 33,700 trade and service outlets, of which 27% are located in rural areas where there are not enough ATMs or bank offices. Over the first six months of 2023 alone, as many as 5.6 million cash withdrawal transactions worth ₽11.1 billion were conducted at cash desks. The average amount of cash withdrawals was close to ₽2,000.
‘The ‘cash-out’ service helps shops increase their attractiveness and reduce collection costs, and banks — offer the opportunity to dispense cash to people via payment cards in small settlements where there are no ATMs and involve customers in using their payroll projects. In the areas with underdeveloped ATM networks, people will be able to withdraw cash using their payroll cards at the cash desks of trade and service outlets’, clarified Mikhail Mamuta, Head of the Service for Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion of the Bank of Russia.