19. The Russian Payments Scheme: Politics, Innovation and the Cash Problem

This chapter presents a retrospective of politics, economics and user behaviour all fused together to propel the new formation of a local payment scheme in Russia. Developments accelerated rapidly between March 21, 2014, and the closing days of April 2015, when the first transactions through ‘a local switch’ were announced. These developments brought to light how issues of financial inclusion are all the more important, and help make a case for propelling new innovative payment services as vital for the future of financial inclusion. The chapter examines the pre-existing conditions of user demand, economical and technological requirements for the system to exist in the first place as well as the political agenda put forward to speed up the schedule to its rapid implementation. This chapter also documents the latest achievements of the scheme and proposes a short-term narrative of what might happen with the boldest payment bet from a country that leapfrogged from almost barter economy to digital payments in the short span of 25 years.