Alfa-Bank, X5 Retail Group (one of Russia’s leading multi-format retailers), and the Mastercard international payment system have developed a joint federal project that will be implemented in the Perekrestok retail chain.

The partners started issuing Mastercard Perekrestok-Alfa-Bank co-branded cards, the bank announced on November 24, 2016.

Clients will earn points that may be used for purchases at Perekrestok supermarkets for any purchases paid with these cards. All cards are equipped with Mastercard’s innovative contactless technology to enable clients to pay for the purchases with a single touch.

Established in 1990, Alfa-Bank is a universal bank performing most of the basic banking operations. Alfa-Bank’s direct shareholders are the Russia-based AB Holding (more than 99 percent of the shares of stock) and the Cyprus-based Alfa Capital Holdings (less than one percent). The Alfa-Bank Group is ultimately owned by six individuals, including Mikhail Fridman, German Khan, Alexey Kousmichoff, Petr Aven, Alexander Knaster, and Andrei Kosogov.

The IFRS net profits of the Alfa-Bank Group for the first half of 2016 increased five times to USD161 million. Operating profits before provisioning were USD914 million. The net fee and commission income in rouble terms increased by more than 25 percent to USD277 million. As of June 30, 2016, the assets of the Alfa-Bank Group totaled USD33.316 billion, a figure that reflects an increase of 5.9 percent in U.S. dollar terms year-on-year.

Mastercard is a technology company operating in the global payment processing industry.

The X5 Retail Group is the largest retail company in Russia. The company runs stores in several formats, including the Pyaterochka soft discount stores, the Perekrestok supermarkets, and the Karusel hypermarkets, along with corner stores of various brands. On May 18, 2006, the merger of Pyaterochka and Perekrestok created the leading company in Russia’s grocery retail trade market. On June 26, 2008, X5 completed the acquisition of the Karusel store chain, which allowed the retailer to considerably strengthen its power in the hypermarket segment. In 2010, the company acquired the Kopeyka discount chain.

As of September 30, 2016, the company exercised control over 8,574 outlets in Moscow and St. Petersburg, with leading positions in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as a considerable footprint in the European part of Russia. The company’s network consists of 7,787 Pyaterochka stores, 503 Perekrestok supermarkets, 90 Karusel hypermarkets, and 194 Express stores. As of the same date, the company managed 35 distribution centers and owned 1,562 trucks.

As of August 17, 2016, the shareholding structure of the X5 Retail Group consisted of Alfa Group (47.86 percent), Pyaterochka’s founders (14.43 percent), and X5 directors (0.06 percent). The treasury stock is 0.01 percent, and the free-float is 37.64 percent.

The IFRS net profits of the X5 Retail Group N.V. for the first half of 2016 grew by 63.7 percent to RUB13.004 billion (USD210 million) from RUB7.942 billion (USD130 million) registered in the prior year. Revenues increased by 26.3 percent to RUB483.244 billion (USD7.97 billion) from RUB382.608 billion (USD6.31 billion). Gross profits went up by 24.8 percent to RUB115.998 billion (USD1.91 billion) from RUB92.971 billion (USD1.53 billion). The EBITDA increased by 32.6 percent to RUB36.498 billion (USD600 million) from RUB27.517 billion (USD450 million).