Russian Processor Brings Customs Payments to the Web

Russian customs payments processor Multiservice Payment System has deployed technology to combine a Web transaction portal with electronic declaration services at the point of sale.

The company is the first Russian customs payments processor to use BPC Banking Technologies' SmartVista, software that integrates routing, point of sale management and other elements of payments processing.

"This project had some specific requirements, including the need to transfer every single payment to the Federal Customs accounts and report to Treasury of Russia," says Vasily Grigoriev, a managing director for BPC Banking Technologies, which has operations in a number of countries, including Russian offices in Moscow and U.S. offices in Atlanta.

In deploying in Russia's complex payments environment, BPC encountered a customs market with very little payments automation and complex regulatory hurdles, Grigoriev says. The Russian government charges fees for goods entering or exiting the country, typically shipped into Russia by companies or expatriates

"I would say that the biggest market challenge was to introduce a completely new system, one that had never been deployed before in Russia—an online service to process, verify, control the limits and report to state authorities," he says.

SmartVista enables authorization switching and routing, card management, fraud detection and card management. The technology supports transactions made at ATMs, payment terminals and online. Multiservice Payment System is using SmartVista to process customs transactions made from PAYHD, Multiservice Payment System's customs payment card, as well as from other payment card brands. Multiservice Payment Systems' clients, including bank acquirers, importers and exporters, can also use  SmartVista to add new Web or mobile payment products to their existing customs payments services, as well as to access Russian electronic declaration forms.

"Customers may make custom payments and clearances through their own personal account via a dedicated Web portal without visiting a customs office," Grigoriev says.

When a customs payment is fulfilled, SmartVista authorizes the transaction and reports to the Russian customs agent on the payment verification so the goods can be cleared. "Everything is carried out online," Grigoriev says.

SmartVista, which has about 120 clients in 40 countries, typically serves companies in the financial services, transportation, retail and government sectors. The product also provides billing, merchant management, internet and mobile banking. It supports credit, debit, prepaid, gift, corporate, instant issue, virtual, contactless and loyalty cards.