OREANDA-NEWS. February 28, 2013. Citibank and Elecsnet announced a joint agreement allowing Citibank clients with MasterCard PayPass cards to more quickly and simply add funds to their accounts – they will no longer need to enter such information as their account number – only to tap their bankcard against the Elecsnet terminal’s special card reader. This service is offered free of charge.

“We strive to keep in step with the times, which is why back in 2008 we installed RFID readers on our terminals, and thanks to this we have the opportunity to work with contactless card technologies,” says Elecsnet CEO Yuri Lokotsov. “This innovation opens new opportunities for the development of our services. In particular, this has made it possible to greatly simplify the process of entering information at terminals of the Elecsnet network for holders of Citibank’s MasterCard PayPass.”

“We are continually working to ensure that our products and services are convenient, secure and accessible for our clients, and we are implementing new technologies,” says Yuri Topunov, Credit Cards Business Director at Citibank. “In particular, we became one of the first banks in Russia to launch cards with the MasterCard PayPass contactless technology and more than 30% of our clients have already begun taking advantage of contactless payments. Today we are glad to offer credit card holders the opportunity to conveniently recharge their accounts through the more than 3500 terminals of the Elecsnet network throughout the country.”

When using Elecsnet terminals, the client places the MasterCard PayPass card against the terminal’s reading device, which prompts the appearance of the deposit form on the terminal’s screen to add funds to the account linked with the card. To complete the operation the user simply adds cash via the terminal.

MasterCard PayPass technology, which allows for secure, fast and simply transactions, is used in the following Citibank credit cards: Citi Select, Citibank MasterCard®, Citibank Miles & More, Citibank MasterCard® Cash Back, MTS-Citibank, MegaFon-Citibank and Neste Oil-Citibank.

“Modern technologies for cashless payments create a more convenient world for mankind,” says Anton Shigapov, Vice President for Innovative Technologies, MasterCard Russia. “Thanks to the technology of contactless payments, MasterCard PayPass saves the buyers’ time and speeds up service at points of sale, because the payment process is very fast. However, the advantages do not end here: as we see with this project of Citibank and Elecsnet, thanks to the contactless interface other interesting opportunities can be realized, allowing for addition time savings and creating conveniences for the client.”