Qiwi
Qiwi was a Russian payment and financial-services group known for its digital wallets, payment terminals, bank, money-transfer network, and related fintech businesses.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Qiwi was a Russian payment and financial-services company operating primarily in Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States markets. Its consumer-facing network combined electronic wallets and virtual cards with a large physical estate of self-service payment terminals and payment points. The group also developed or acquired businesses in banking, international and domestic money transfers, factoring, marketing technology, and digital services. The group was established in 2007 by Sergey Solonin, Boris Kim, and Andrey Romanenko. It grew out of Russia’s expanding market for cash-based electronic payments, where customers could use standalone terminals to pay for mobile communications, internet services, utilities, loans, games, and other goods or services. Qiwi subsequently connected that physical infrastructure to online wallets and cards, allowing users to move between cash deposits, digital balances, merchant payments, and transfers. Its broader group included the QIWI payment system, QIWI Bank, the CONTACT money-transfer system, Factoring PLUS, Flocktory, and RealWeb. A significant commercial milestone came in 2012, when Visa and Qiwi entered a global partnership and the wallet was presented as the co-branded Visa QIWI Wallet. The partnership helped Qiwi link its domestic wallet proposition to the international Visa card network. In 2013, Qiwi became a public company through a NASDAQ listing. It later expanded by acquiring full ownership of CONTACT in 2015 and by purchasing rights to the Rocketbank and Tochka banking brands and software from Otkritie Bank in 2017. In 2018, Qiwi and Otkritie announced a joint venture for Tochka, aimed at serving entrepreneurs and small businesses; Qiwi sold its interest to Otkritie in 2021. The group’s business was affected by changes in Russian regulation, particularly rules governing payment intermediaries, anti-money-laundering controls, and betting-related payment accounting. In 2021, a government-directed change selected Mobile Card rather than Qiwi as the exclusive accounting center for bookmakers’ betting transfers, creating uncertainty around part of Qiwi’s payment revenue. In 2023, Qiwi separated its Russian and international activities, with the Russian operations placed under Qiwi JSC and the Cyprus-registered Qiwi plc retaining oversight of the Kazakhstan business. That restructuring was intended to address the risk of the group’s international listing being affected by restrictions on its Russian operations. The decisive event in Qiwi’s history occurred on February 21, 2024, when the Central Bank of Russia revoked Qiwi Bank’s banking license. The regulator cited repeated non-compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, including anti-money-laundering obligations. The Deposit Insurance Agency was appointed to carry out temporary administration functions. Wallet transactions and terminal operations were suspended, and CONTACT, which was operated by Qiwi, also halted activity and was removed from the register of payment systems. On February 22, Qiwi depositary receipts were removed from Moscow Exchange indices. The corporate holding company was renamed NanduQ PLC after shareholder approval on August 27, 2024. Accordingly, Qiwi is best understood as a former operating brand and historical payment group rather than an active Russian banking and wallet platform. Its legacy is associated with the digitization of everyday payments in Russia, the convergence of cash terminals and online wallets, and the regulatory vulnerability of payment businesses that serve high-risk or closely supervised transaction categories.
History
Qiwi emerged in 2007 as Russia’s electronic-payment market was developing around prepaid services, mobile communications, internet access, and cash-based payment terminals. Sergey Solonin, Boris Kim, and Andrey Romanenko founded the group and built a network that allowed customers to make payments through self-service kiosks and payment points. This infrastructure was important in a market where consumers did not always rely on traditional bank accounts or cards for routine transactions. The company gradually combined its terminal network with online financial products. QIWI Wallet enabled users to hold electronic balances, make merchant payments, transfer funds, and access virtual or payment cards. By linking physical cash acceptance with digital accounts, Qiwi positioned itself between a traditional bank, a payment processor, and a consumer fintech platform. The group later reported a network of more than 16.6 million wallets and virtual cards and nearly 106,000 terminals and payment points. In November 2012, Qiwi and Visa announced a global partnership. The wallet was reworked as Visa QIWI Wallet, giving the service a stronger connection to the Visa card ecosystem while retaining Qiwi’s local payment network. Qiwi went public on NASDAQ in 2013. It expanded beyond its original wallet and terminal business in 2015 by acquiring all of CONTACT, a money-transfer system that supported domestic and cross-border remittances. The group pursued additional financial-services activities during the second half of the 2010s. In 2017, Qiwi acquired rights to the Rocketbank and Tochka brands and related banking software from Otkritie Bank. In 2018, Qiwi and Otkritie announced a Tochka joint venture focused on services for entrepreneurs. The arrangement was later unwound when Qiwi sold its interest to Otkritie in 2021. That year, Andrey Protopopov, previously head of the Payment Segment, became chief executive officer. Regulatory exposure became increasingly important. In 2021, Mobile Card rather than Qiwi was selected as the exclusive center for recording bookmaker betting transfers. Qiwi stated that it would continue working with betting providers through a proposed unified center, but the change threatened part of its expected revenue and was followed by a reported six-percent fall in Qiwi’s share price. The company also faced tighter controls over payment activity and customer withdrawals. In July 2023, at the request of the Bank of Russia, Qiwi Bank restricted cash withdrawals and transfers to bank accounts to 1,000 rubles per month, although ordinary payments and some wallet functions remained available. During 2023, the group separated its Russian and international operations. Russian companies were placed under Qiwi JSC, registered in Moscow, while the Cyprus-registered Qiwi plc was to supervise the Kazakhstan business. The restructuring was connected to the risk of delisting and the difficulty of maintaining an international corporate structure while operating a regulated Russian financial business. On February 21, 2024, the Central Bank of Russia revoked Qiwi Bank’s license. The regulator said the bank had violated legal requirements and systematically failed to comply with anti-money-laundering rules. The Deposit Insurance Agency took on temporary-administration functions. The license revocation disabled wallet transactions and payment terminals and interrupted CONTACT, whose operator was Qiwi. CONTACT was subsequently excluded from the register of payment systems. Qiwi depositary receipts were removed from Moscow Exchange indices on February 22. At a shareholder meeting on August 27, 2024, the holding company approved a change of name from Qiwi PLC to NanduQ PLC. The name change marked the end of Qiwi’s role as the name of an operating Russian bank and payment network, although the Qiwi brand remains historically associated with Russia’s transition from cash-based kiosk payments to integrated digital wallets and fintech services.
- 2024
Qiwi Bank license revoked
[1]The Bank of Russia revokes Qiwi Bank’s license, halting major wallet, terminal, and CONTACT activities.
- 2024
Holding company renamed NanduQ
[1]Shareholders approve the renaming of Qiwi PLC to NanduQ PLC.
- 2023
Russian and international businesses separated
[1]The group reorganizes its Russian and international operations into separate corporate structures.
- 2021
Tochka stake sold
[1]Qiwi sells its interest in the Tochka joint venture to Otkritie Bank.
- 2018
Tochka joint venture announced
[1]Qiwi and Otkritie announce a joint venture for financial services aimed at entrepreneurs.
- 2017
Rocketbank and Tochka rights acquired
[1]Qiwi purchases rights to the Rocketbank and Tochka brands and banking software from Otkritie Bank.
- 2015
CONTACT becomes wholly owned by Qiwi
[1]Qiwi Group acquires full ownership of the CONTACT money-transfer system.
- 2013
NASDAQ listing
[1]Qiwi becomes publicly traded on NASDAQ.
- 2012
Visa QIWI Wallet partnership
[1]Qiwi and Visa enter a global partnership, and QIWI Wallet becomes a co-branded Visa product.
- 2007
QIWI Group is founded
[1]Sergey Solonin, Boris Kim, and Andrey Romanenko establish the group in Russia.
Products and positioning
A mass-market Russian fintech and payment network combining cash-in terminals, electronic wallets, cards, merchant payments, and related financial infrastructure.
Electronic wallet
QIWI Wallet
Qiwi’s core consumer wallet stored electronic balances and supported payments for goods and services, transfers between wallets, card-linked activity, and selected financial-service transactions. It extended the company’s original terminal model into an online and mobile environment.
Digital wallet and payment card · 2012
Visa QIWI Wallet
The co-branded wallet created through Qiwi’s 2012 partnership with Visa. It combined Qiwi’s electronic-wallet functionality with access to Visa-associated payment capabilities, helping customers use digital balances beyond the company’s own terminal network.
Self-service payment infrastructure
QIWI payment terminals
A large network of kiosks and payment points used for cash-based payment of mobile, internet, utility, loan, entertainment, and other services. The terminals were a defining part of Qiwi’s Russian distribution model and a bridge between cash and electronic money.
Money-transfer system
CONTACT
A domestic and international money-transfer network acquired outright by Qiwi in 2015. CONTACT broadened the group’s role in remittances and cross-border payments before its operations were suspended after the Qiwi Bank license revocation.
Banking services
QIWI Bank
Qiwi’s regulated banking subsidiary supported parts of the group’s wallet, payment, and settlement infrastructure. The Bank of Russia revoked its banking license on February 21, 2024, after citing regulatory and anti-money-laundering violations.
Controversies
2024
Qiwi Bank license revocation and anti-money-laundering violations
The Bank of Russia revoked Qiwi Bank’s license, stating that the bank had violated legal requirements and systematically failed to comply with anti-money-laundering rules. The action disrupted wallet transactions, terminals, and the CONTACT transfer system.
Brand decisions
2024
Rename the holding company NanduQ PLCOtherBackground
Following the disruption of Qiwi Bank and the separation of the group’s businesses, shareholders considered a new corporate identity for the holding company.
Action taken
On August 27, 2024, shareholders approved changing the holding company’s name from Qiwi PLC to NanduQ PLC.
Aftermath
Qiwi ceased to represent the name of the former holding company, although the brand remained associated with the historical Russian payment network.
2023
Separate Russian and international operationsStrategyBackground
Qiwi faced pressure associated with its Russian financial operations and the risk of losing its international listing.
Action taken
The group placed Russian companies under Moscow-registered Qiwi JSC and assigned the Kazakhstan business to Cyprus-registered Qiwi plc.
Aftermath
The restructuring did not prevent the subsequent collapse of the Russian payment and banking operations after the Qiwi Bank license was revoked.
2017
Acquire Rocketbank and Tochka rightsM&ABackground
Qiwi sought to broaden its banking and business-finance presence.
Action taken
The group purchased rights to the Rocketbank and Tochka brands and banking software from Otkritie Bank.
Aftermath
The Tochka business later became the subject of a Qiwi-Otkritie joint venture, and Qiwi ultimately sold its stake in 2021.
2015
Acquire CONTACT outrightM&ABackground
Qiwi was expanding from domestic wallet and terminal payments into money transfers.
Action taken
QIWI Group acquired 100 percent of the CONTACT money-transfer system.
Aftermath
CONTACT became part of Qiwi’s broader payment and remittance group until its suspension in 2024.
2012
Adopt the Visa QIWI Wallet modelStrategyBackground
Qiwi sought to connect its Russian electronic-wallet network with a major international card scheme.
Action taken
Qiwi and Visa entered a global partnership and transformed QIWI Wallet into a co-branded Visa product.
Aftermath
The partnership expanded the wallet’s card-network connectivity and became a major step in Qiwi’s digital-payment positioning.
Recent events
- 2024
Qiwi holding company approved renaming to NanduQ[1]
Leadership change
Shareholders approved changing the name of the holding company from Qiwi PLC to NanduQ PLC.
- 2023
Qiwi restricts cash withdrawals after Central Bank request[1]
Regulation
Qiwi Bank limited cash withdrawals and transfers to bank accounts to 1,000 rubles per month, while retaining payment, wallet-transfer, and certain loan-repayment functions.
- 2023
Qiwi separates Russian and international businesses[1]
Regulation
The group reorganized its Russian operations under Qiwi JSC in Moscow while Qiwi plc in Cyprus supervised the Kazakhstan business.
- 2021
Qiwi sells its Tochka joint-venture interest[1]
M&A
Qiwi sold its stake in the Tochka joint venture to Otkritie Bank.
- 2021
Regulatory change removes Qiwi from exclusive bookmaker settlement role[1]
Regulation · Pricing
Mobile Card was selected as the exclusive center for recording bookmakers’ betting transfers. The change reduced Qiwi’s expected role in this activity and was associated with a decline in its share price.
- 2018
Qiwi and Otkritie announce Tochka joint venture[1]
M&A · Product launch
The companies announced a joint venture intended to develop financial services for Russian entrepreneurs and small businesses.
- 2017
Qiwi acquires Rocketbank and Tochka brand and software rights[1]
M&A
Qiwi purchased rights connected with the Rocketbank and Tochka banking services from Otkritie Bank.
- 2017
Andrey Romanenko leaves Qiwi management[1]
Leadership change
Co-founder Andrey Romanenko left the company’s management and sold his stake.
- 2015
Qiwi acquires full ownership of CONTACT[1]
M&A
Qiwi Group became the sole shareholder of the CONTACT money-transfer system, expanding its position in remittances and payment services.
- 2013
Qiwi completes NASDAQ public offering[1]
Other
Qiwi became a publicly traded company on NASDAQ, with its shares initially offered at 17 US dollars per share.
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