Bank of Russia Wants Marketplace Refunds Returned to the Original Card

The Bank of Russia has asked the Ministry of Economic Development to write a same-card refund requirement into law, Interfax reports. The proposal targets a widespread practice among online platforms: routing customer refunds to anonymous electronic wallets held in the platforms' subsidiary banks.

The problem is structural. Customers frequently do not know these wallets exist. They never see the refunded money land in their own account.

"Given the legal restrictions on unidentified payment instruments, this money cannot simply be withdrawn to your card — it can only be spent again," said Alexey Chirkov, a Bank of Russia representative, describing the typical scenario. "So this is effectively an additional restriction on disposing of your money, created on the platform's side. Formally everything is legal; substantively, it is a disgrace."

Why the regulator stepped in

Under Russian law, funds held in non-identified payment instruments — e-wallets not fully linked to a verified user identity — carry withdrawal restrictions. A customer whose refund lands in such a wallet faces a narrow choice: spend the money again on the same platform, or complete identification procedures to unlock it. Either way, the platform benefits.

Chirkov's framing is blunt. The arrangement complies with the letter of the law while imposing what he calls a de facto constraint on how consumers use their own funds — one that originates entirely on the digital platform's side, not in any regulation.

What does this change for consumers and platforms?

For consumers, the proposed amendment would make the refund path deterministic: money returns to the same bank card used for the original payment. No intermediate wallet, no forced re-spending, no identification hurdles.

For marketplaces, the change would cut off a mechanism that effectively locks refund value inside their own ecosystems. Platforms operating subsidiary banks that issue these anonymous wallets would need to rebuild their refund infrastructure.

Financial product rules may extend to platforms

The same-card mandate is not the only measure on the table. The Bank of Russia also proposed extending consumer protection rules on the sale of financial products — rules already binding on financial organizations — to online platforms.

If adopted, platforms marketing financial services would fall under the same conduct standards as banks and licensed financial institutions, closing a regulatory gap that has let e-commerce players sell financial products outside the framework designed for them.

Industry positioning

Wildberries and Ozon, the two largest Russian marketplaces, have stated they are ready to operate under the law on platform economy now being developed. The stance signals that leading players do not intend to resist the broader legislative framework, even as specific requirements — such as the same-card refund rule — remain at the proposal stage.

Separately, legislative work continues on assigning digital platforms responsibility for children's safety online, part of the same tightening regulatory perimeter around platform businesses.

What comes next

The proposal now sits with the Ministry of Economic Development, which must decide whether the same-card requirement enters draft legislation. No timeline has been announced. Until a law passes, refunds to anonymous wallets remain legal — and, in Chirkov's words, substantively disgraceful.