International payment system PayPal may enter the Russian market over the next year, Mikhail Mamut, a board member of the Electronic Money Association, told Interfax.

“PayPal is the biggest international payment system that has not yet entered the Russian market and it has shown interest in the market over the last few years. PayPal localization is possible but not guaranteed,” Mamut said.

PayPal localization in Russia means that, according to Russian legislation, the payment system would have to open a credit organization in the country, he said. It would probably be a non-bank credit organization, because it does not make sense to open a bank for a payment system as it is not involved in loans and raising deposits, he added.

“It is difficult to say exactly when this will happen. But let’s say I would not be surprised if it happens in the next year,” Mamut said.

If PayPal enters the Russian market others may follow, he said. “Of course if someone paves the way, nothing stops others following suit. Asian payment systems are also showing interest in the Russian market. The Russian market is of interest for Europe and for Asia. It is interesting due to its scale (100 million potential users, only behind the Chinese and Indian markets in volume). The European market is very saturated and for us the share of people covered by similar payment services is not very large so far,” he explained.

Payment service development and lower rates should follow after PayPal enters Russia, Mamut said. “Usually any competition leads to a drop in the cost of services,” he said.

Deputy Central Bank Chairman Mikhail Sukhov recently spoke about the interest in the Russian market among international payment systems. “I know that international payment systems plan to expand operations on the Russian market, providing our citizens with mass retail products. If this happens there really will be a choice and the cost of servicing will be lower,” he said at a press conference in Ufa on March 22.

PayPal is one of the world’s largest electronic payment systems, enabling payments, transfers and online buying with operations carried out in various currencies. The system is owned by the eBay Corporation and is present in over 190 countries.

Russia is currently on the list of countries where nationals can receive and accept payments within the system as well as make transfers from a PayPal account to an American bank.