A full analogue of Apple Pay with payment via Bluetooth will be launched in Russia

Dom.RF bank also showed interest in testing the new technology. The final product will be an individual modification of the technology created by NSPK to meet the needs of a specific bank. The new mechanism will allow Android and iOS smartphone users to pay for their purchases using a contactless method.

At the same time, an Internet connection will not be necessary to pay for purchases using a contactless method, but this will require modifying most of the payment terminals on the market, the newspaper notes. Sberbank terminals are fully compatible with the new technology and technically payments via Bluetooth can be made using the appropriate mobile applications, the bank’s senior vice president Dmitry Malykh told the newspaper.

The initiative to create Volna is supported by the Central Bank of Russia and is aimed at developing convenient payment technologies for citizens, the regulator’s press service told the publication.

In October this year, the general director of NSPK presented a prototype of a replacement for Apple Pay at the Finopolis-2024 forum, the company’s press service informed RB.RU. The Volna system will work with Bluetooth Low Energy technology: this protocol consumes much less energy than normal Bluetooth and is, in particular, used in Apple AirTag, wireless headphones and computer mice.

The main difference with NFC is the range of the technology: NFC transmits the signal over short distances, making data transfer more secure; for Bluetooth Low Energy, this figure reaches 10 m. Also, unlike Bluetooth technology, the NFC chip in Apple smartphones. It is closed to third-party developers.

“[Решение] It will allow you to pay for your purchases with your smartphone in the usual contactless way. It will be enough to take the device to the payment terminal. It will be possible to pay for purchases online at a slightly greater distance from the terminal,” the NSPK press service informed RB.RU.