OREANDA-NEWS. July 14, 2011. OJSC Mobile TeleSystems, a major telecommunications operator in Russia and the CIS, and the Federal Gorod System, one of Russia’s largest consolidators in the market of collection and processing of regular payments, announce the launch of their partnership, with the technical assistance of the Bank of Moscow. This will facilitate a significant expansion of the range of services in the regions available for payment via the MTS mobile commerce service — the Easy Payment option.

Customers of all of Russia’s mobile operators and holders of bank cards of any Russian bank can make instant payments from their mobile phone and via the MTS website, using the MTS Easy Payment option, in respect of mobile and landline communication services, Internet access, services, cable TV, rent, electricity bills, airline and railway tickets, and certain categories of items at online shops.

Connection of the Federal Gorod System to the Easy Payment service option platform, with the technical assistance of the Bank of Moscow, will make payments to additional 700 service providers all over Russia possible by the end of 2011. Currently, services of over 4,000 providers, operating both on the federal level and in the Central Federal District, can be paid via the Easy Payment option.

"To date over 2.5 million people have had an opportunity to appreciate the convenience and safety of MTS mobile payments. Our goal is to make this service option an easy, universal and convenient payment instrument for everyone in our country,’ Mikhail Gerchuk, MTS Marketing Vice-President, said. "That is why it is a strategic priority of ours to expand the range of services on offer that could be paid through this option in the regions. Partnership with the Federal Gorod System is a logical step on the path to achieving our goals."

"The Federal Gorod System was designed with a view to create multichannel communication between the payer and service providers: via Internet bank, terminals and ATMs and, of course, via mobile phones," says Pyotr Mazanov, Director of the Federal Gorod System, in his comment on their joint project with MTS. "Today mobile communication covers all regions and all population strata, and the MTS Easy Payment option makes mobile phone even more functional, convenient and handy device."

"Taking into account our participation as a settlement bank and a partner, we reaffirm our status of one of the leading providers of financial services to individuals, who also actively implements innovative solutions," Oksana Smirnova-Krell, Vice-President of the Bank of Moscow, said. "Our solutions in the field of greater „mobilization“ of remote payments are addressed to the most active part of our clientele who widely use modern technologies."

To benefit from the Easy Payment option you will only need to upload a special application on your mobile phone or make your payments directly via  www.pay.mts.ru. Subscribers of any of the mobile operators may pay with their bank cards, MTS subscribers — both with their bank cards and from their customer accounts. The payment fee is 10 rubles regardless of the amount of payment and is written off the card. The extra fee of the partner bank does not exceed 2.5% and is not charged on the majority of payments.