Banks v. telecom operators: Russia's fight over who pays for the networks

Russia's banks and its "big four" mobile operators — MTS, MegaFon, VimpelCom (Beeline) and T2 — are fighting over the same question on two fronts: who should pay for the telecom infrastructure that banks increasingly rely on. The first front is fees for labelling banks' outgoing calls. The second, which opened on 27 October, is a set of restrictions on virtual mobile operators, many of which are owned by banks.

Front one: paying to be identified. Since 1 September 2025, Russian law requires calls from businesses to be labelled, so that the recipient's screen shows who is calling — a measure aimed at spam and phone fraud. A government decree requires companies to sign contracts with operators for this. The big four charge on average 30 kopecks per call attempt, including unanswered calls.

In September the four operators wrote jointly to the Ministry of Digital Development, naming banks that had not signed or were not complying: Alfa-Bank, VTB, Gazprombank, Renaissance Credit, Sberbank, Sovcombank and T-Bank. On 12 October they told the banks that from 15 October unlabelled calls would no longer be put through. "On the 15th we will switch the calls off," MegaFon CEO Khachatur Pombukhchan said in early October. The operators say more than 90% of the banking market has signed up and that unlabelled calls from large banks exceed half a billion a month.

The banks refuse to pay. The National Financial Market Council wrote to Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadaev and Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina, arguing that a payment dispute gives operators no right to cut basic telecom services, and that the decree requiring contracts contradicts the law itself. The banks also argue that blocked calls are a security risk: a customer may never hear from the bank's fraud team.

Estimates of the stakes vary. Strategy Partners puts the cost at up to 1 billion rubles a year for a large bank and up to 20 billion for the market; the banks' council cites 3.5 billion a year.

Front two: virtual operators. On 27 October Kommersant reported that the ministry is preparing rules for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), which sell mobile service on other companies' networks. Many are owned by banks and offer cheap or free plans to keep customers loyal. The proposals under discussion include a minimum tariff of 250 rubles (about $3) a month, doubling MVNOs' contribution to the universal service fund from 2% to 4% of revenue, a ban on serving critical information infrastructure, and a ban on using two host operators' networks in the same region. The ministry says it does not plan a separate licence for MVNOs and that the mechanisms are still being worked out. Its argument: subscribers leaving for virtual operators cut the host operators' revenue and their capacity to invest. Minister Shadaev had already called the spread of MVNOs a "pain point" for network development.

The parties' positions. MegaFon, VimpelCom and MTS support the initiative, arguing that MVNOs should share the cost of building networks. T-Mobile, owned by T-Bank, says virtual operators already fund infrastructure through universal service contributions and by renting capacity from the big operators. MVNO representatives warn of higher prices and slower launches of new plans. SberMobile has not commented publicly.

The market. According to TelecomDaily, Russian MVNOs had more than 25.5 million SIM cards at the end of 2025, up 51% in a year. The largest is Yota, with a 41% share — and Yota belongs to MegaFon. SberMobile has 25% and T-Mobile 21%. The restrictions would therefore hit an operator-owned brand as well as the bank-owned ones.

How the dispute is being fought. Both sides lobby the regulators, and both sides' letters have leaked to the press. The operators speak of protecting subscribers and funding networks; the banks speak of customer security and fair pricing. Nobody has yet published a cost calculation that would justify a 250-ruble floor.

What next. The call-labelling dispute remains unresolved, and the ministry's MVNO proposals have not yet taken the form of a draft law. This page will be updated.

Kurs Media editorial team. Corrections and statements from the parties: press@kursmedia.com. Read in Russian.