The e-Finance Russia’2007. Electronic Finance Management International Specialized Exhibition and Conference ran in parallel with the Sviaz-Expocomm’2007 Exhibition at Expocentre Fairgrounds on 14–18 May 2007.

In terms of scale and prominence, the e-Finance Exhibition and Conference has undoubtedly become Russia’s largest exhibition event dedicated to electronic finance management that features the complete range of technological solutions and services in the electronic economy including card payment solutions, terminal equipment and vending, electronic payment systems and means, Internet banking, Internet trading, Internet insurance and information security systems.

The e-Finance Russia’2007 and the Sviaz-Expocomm’2007 Exhibitions were deliberately held together. Nowadays, the topic of the two events attracts great interest from both mobile phone operators and service providers. Since payment services available over the Internet and on mobile networks can make consumers’ lives more comfortable, they will undoubtedly become popular with the consumers.

Remote delivery of financial services, or branchless banking, that includes the use of e-money, card payment and mobile payment systems is a highly prospective trend in the development of financial services, which enhances their affordability for consumers. The main exposition and the conference were devoted to this area of activity of microfinance organizations.

High-tech Pavilion 8 recently constructed at Expocentre Fairgrounds was an excellent place to exhibit a plenty of the latest e-finance technologies.

The Mobile Purse payment system presented its novelties, which generated strong interest from both users of the system and its partners. The presentation of a VISA – Mobile Wallet bankcard, a new financial product developed jointly with AKB Rusinvestclub, was held at the company’s impressive stand. A VISA - Mobile Purse co-branding debit card has all functions of an ordinary VISA bankcard. The major feature of this product is bank account management via a mobile phone. Using the Mobile Wallet Programme, the bank’s clients can pay for goods and services of more than 100 providers. Another novelty known to some Mobile Purse users was a new version of the Mobile Purse payment system optimized for smart phones and communicators equipped with Windows Mobile.

The ChronoPay Company presented a general payment gateway intended to simplify the management of financial flows on the Internet. This new payment solution developed in close cooperation among Russia’s largest e-cash systems such as WebMoney, Yandex.Money RUpay and MoneyMail should meet all requirements of Russian shops and online services.

The Newest Global Technology Company demonstrated the latest types of payment terminals. Now the problem of bad weather does not exist; the NGT novel payment terminals work in all sorts of weather.

The WebMoney Transfer Company arranged an evaluation centre at its stand. Presentation of certificates and valuable prizes aroused public interest and attracted visitors to the stand.

The championship on Internet-trading organized by the FIBO Group Company was held on 17 May at the company’s stand and became one of the events to remember. The trading took place in real time and real place. The attendees had an opportunity to see the winner who had shown how to make money at a stock exchange and received the award.

The first day of the exhibition as well as the round table entitled Mobile Phone as a Payment Instrument in Russia proved e-Finance Russia’2007 to be a particularly important exhibition event. The round table was broadcast live on the TASS Consulting website. Financial specialists from Denmark, France and the USA joined the discussion via a live satellite link-up. The round table welcomed representatives of various groups of the developing mobile payment market such as electronic payment systems, mobile operators as well as the Association of Russian Banks. Reports were delivered by Russian specialists in this field among whom were Mr Andrey Emelin A. (ARB), Mr Yuri Kormosh (ARB), Mr Leonid Ukhlinov (MGTS), Mr Nicolai Ionkin (Mobile Purse), Mr Serguey Barancheev (UFS), Mr Peter Darakhvelidze (WebMoney) and Mr Alexey Lukatskiy (CISCO).

The Interactive Kiosk as a Business Tool Seminar and the Infrastructure of E-Business Seminar held during the next 2 days were rich in content and included reports by representatives of FORS-Banking Systems, Open Technologies, Esfor, Verysell, QSystems, Sensornye Systemy, RuCard and Mobile Discount Systems.

It is notable that the e-Finance Russia Conference was both an international and All-Russia event. It was attended by specialists from Moldova, Italy, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine. Experts from Europe and America joined the event via a live satellite link-up. The exposition, reports and round table discussions were of particular interest to representatives of Russia’s regions. Specialists from Komi, Ekaterinburg, Tatarstan, St.-Petersburg, Ryazan, Tula, Kirov, Magnitogorsk, Samara and other regions and cities participated in discussions and shared their experience with Moscow specialists. The situation with delivery of microfinance services in small and medium sized regional cities, towns and small rural settlements is a lot worse than that in larger cities and the capital.

During a heated discussion about mobile phone payment systems, the participants considered development trends, flaws and problems of the sector. Anrie Brignone, a global expert and one of the major GSM standard designers, said, that ‘It is impossible to settle all problems by a single stroke. We should move ahead gradually. Moreover, technologies and legislation need to keep apace.’ The participants almost unanimously agreed that there was a special need for a law regulating the relationships among various market players.

The event got a constructive feedback from the government. Speaking at the concluding press conference held on 18 May 2007, the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Credit Institutions and Financial Markets, Mr Anatoly G. Aksakov announced the First Meeting of the Working Group on the Enhancement of Availability of Financial Services. During the meeting held in the State Duma on 28 May 2007, the participants including specialists of the e-finance sector discussed issues regarding the legislative control of branchless banking in Russia and considered overseas experience in the field. The extension of use of plastic cards, terminals, e-money and mobile purses was also a point for discussion. Representatives of the World Bank Consulting Group on the development of branchless banking technologies in Russia and in the world familiarized the participants with development trends of branchless banking in six countries and dwelt on the potential and problems of this sector in Russia.

The exhibition was attended by 20,000 visitors and attracted the attention of both the state and the Russian and global public. This proves the e-Finance Russia Exhibition has been a success and will develop rapidly as well as the Russian market for remote financial services does.

Go to Photoalbum to see photos of the event.