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Key people at Qiwi.
QIWI operates as a prominent provider of payment and financial services across Russia and the CIS region, offering solutions that facilitate secure digital transactions. The company’s core offerings encompass a comprehensive payment system and banking services, leveraging adaptive fintech capabilities to process various financial operations. Its approach focuses on modernizing payment infrastructure and enabling seamless digital interactions for users.
The company was founded in 2007 in Moscow, Russia, by Andrey Romanenko, Boris Kim, Sergey Solonin, and Sergio Terentev. Their collective insight centered on the increasing demand for accessible and convenient digital financial services, particularly among populations that were not adequately served by traditional banking institutions. This recognition drove the creation of a platform designed to bridge existing gaps in financial inclusion.
QIWI primarily serves individuals and businesses within high-growth markets, specifically targeting audiences underserved by conventional banks. The company’s long-term vision is to further promote financial inclusion through its evolving suite of fintech products and to continuously adapt its solutions to meet the dynamic needs of its diverse customer base, ensuring broad access to modern financial tools.
Key people at Qiwi.
QIWI plc was a leading provider of next-generation payment and financial services primarily in Russia and CIS countries, operating an integrated network for online, mobile, and physical payments via wallets, terminals, and banking services.[1][2][3] The company offered electronic wallets (over 16.6 million), virtual cards, 106,000+ terminals, QIWI Bank, CONTACT money transfers, and other services like Factoring PLUS, serving consumers for goods, services, and transfers using cash, stored value, or electronic methods.[1][2][3] With 89.9% of revenue from Russia, it supported 7,700+ merchants and banks but faced major setbacks, including QIWI Bank's license revocation in February 2024 and a 2023 business split into Russian (Qiwi JSC in Moscow) and international (Qiwi plc in Cyprus for Kazakhstan) entities, culminating in a rename to NanduQ PLC in August 2024.[1][3]
QIWI traces its roots to JSC QIWI, founded in Russia in 2004, with the Cyprus-based holding company QIWI plc established in February 2007 as OE Investments Limited to oversee it.[1][5] The company expanded rapidly, acquiring Rocketbank and Tochka banking brands in 2017 from Otkritie Bank, forming a joint venture Tochka JSC in 2018 for entrepreneur services, and adapting to betting regulations via a Unified Center in 2021.[1] Key evolution included growing its payment network and separating Russian and international operations in 2023 to avoid Nasdaq delisting amid geopolitical pressures.[1]
QIWI rode the wave of digital payment adoption in emerging markets, particularly Russia and CIS, where cash-to-digital transitions created demand for hybrid networks bridging physical terminals and e-wallets amid limited banking access.[2][3] Timing aligned with mobile money growth post-2007 founding, enabling it to process billions in transactions and influence fintech for underserved users, merchants, and entrepreneurs via Tochka.[1] Market forces like regulatory shifts (e.g., bank license loss, betting rules) and sanctions prompted 2023 splits, reducing its ecosystem role while highlighting fintech vulnerabilities in geopolitically sensitive regions.[1]
Post-2024 bank revocation and NanduQ rebrand, QIWI's Russian operations under Qiwi JSC face contraction, with international focus limited to Kazakhstan (24.41M revenue in 2024).[1][3] Trends like stricter Russian regulations and global de-risking from CIS markets may constrain growth, but residual terminal networks and payment expertise could pivot to niche compliance or transfers. Its influence likely diminishes, evolving from fintech pioneer to a cautionary case on regulatory risks, tying back to its origins as a payments innovator now navigating survival in a fragmented landscape.[1]
