SOCHI, September 27. /TASS/. The National Payment Card System (NSPK, operator of the Mir payment system) will create a council of participants and users of payment services in Russia, NSPK head Dmitry Dubynin told TASS on the sidelines of the International Banking Forum.

"We proposed to the market to create a council of participants and users under the NSPK, this idea received feedback. We contacted all the banks for proposals on what kind of structure it could be, how it should work, what issues to consider. We have now prepared a draft regulation on the council, which defines who can be its members, how they are elected, how voting, discussions etc. can take place. We plan to discuss it with the banks in the near future, approve it and start meeting," Dubynin said.

He noted that in addition to banks, large trade and service enterprises and fintech companies will be invited to the council.

"We also plan to invite representatives of government agencies to the council meetings. We will definitely invite the Digital Development Ministry to participate in the council, since a lot is being done with the state in the area of digitalization, this is of interest to the market. In this regard, we also want to become a platform here you can talk with the state and outline some further steps," Dubynin added.

According to him, the council will meet and discuss innovative payment services, including a universal QR code and bio-acquiring, and the role of market participants in their implementation.

"NSPK can build a common infrastructure for everyone so that banks do not bear the costs of it, and also have equal access to the technology, regardless of the size of the participant. That is, we want to build it in such a way that the root costs in terms of infrastructure lie with NSPK - so that banks know what technology, say, will appear in a month, and are ready to support it," the head of NSPK explained.

Discussion with the market of the main provisions of the council should be completed by mid-October, he said.

About NSPK

In 2014, the Russian authorities created the National Payment Card System (NSPK), which is responsible for the creation of a center for processing domestic transactions using cards of international payment systems, as well as the issuance and promotion of a national payment card. Since 2015, all transactions with cards of the Visa and MasterCard systems have been carried out through the NSPK. Back then the Mir payment card was also developed.

The Financial Messaging System of the Bank of Russia (SPFS) has also been operating since 2014. SPFS can transmit data in SWIFT format, but does not depend on its channels. In 2017, SPFS began to operate in full, transmitting messages about transactions in any currency. Initially, it was intended only for domestic Russian users, but now non-residents are also connecting to it.