Payment system Vkontakte? Is this possible?

2016-06-11 00:00:00:

Social services unite millions of people under their "wing", which sooner or later pushes the creators to organize their own payment system. The social network Vkontakte was no exception. So, in April 2010, the Vkontakte payment system appeared, which existed for a little more than a year, and was closed already in August 2011.

How did Vkontakte money work? What were the peculiarities of the system, and why did it close? Are there any prospects for PS in the future? These issues require detailed consideration. Indeed, the controversy around this phenomenon does not subside.

What was the Vkontakte payment system?

The first thing worth noting is that the system did not issue its own money, but only offered customers virtual banknotes. The latter could be used for online advertising, buying gifts, purchasing various bonuses in games, and so on. The capabilities of the new system allowed customers to transfer funds to the account (only rubles). In fact, a system was created that can accept money to transfer it in favor of another network participant.

This principle of operation raised the question of the need for the system to obtain a license to operate. At the same time, the creators of the PS have not been able to explain which legal model the new development adheres to. In this regard, a number of questions arose related to connecting to the network of online stores in Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine.

During its existence, the payment system accepted only rubles, but the developers planned the development and inclusion of other currencies in order to connect users from other countries. Depositing and withdrawing funds from the PS was possible through other payment systems or multiple terminals. Negotiations were also conducted with the largest banks on the possibility of crediting money using a payment card.

The withdrawal of money from the ruble account was made by legal entities without commission payments. As for ordinary citizens, it was planned for them to open the option of withdrawing money with a commission from the bank and the Vkontakte network itself (the size of the commission is 0-0.7%). At the same time, the creators paid attention to the fact that the goal is not to monetize through commission, but to expand the number of users and network capabilities.

The PS plans were to conclude agreements with online stores on the fact of providing discounts to customers of the Vkontakte payment system. But there was no guarantee that the sellers would agree to such conditions. An important advantage of the system was the ability to withdraw payments, which is an important factor from the standpoint of protecting the interests of the client.

Thus, Vkontaktes money was to become an alternative to the systems already existing at that time. The system was positioned as convenient and open for clients (individuals and entrepreneurs). The advantages of the system included the fact of a huge audience, which was constantly growing. It would be at least stupid not to take advantage of such a chance.

What happened to the Vkontakte payment system?

From the first days of the PS appearance, questions were raised about the legal (legal) basis of its existence. Experts agreed that the payment system within the social network is illegal, has dubious reliability and will not last long. The first alarming "call" was the refusal of the Qiwi payment system to withdraw rubles from the new PS, which made the already complicated process of withdrawing funds complicated.

In August 2011, the company decided to abandon the further operation of the payment system, the built-in online store, and even the clients vish-lists. According to the PS management, the reason for the refusal to further develop the network was the new law concerning the national payment system. As it turned out, the innovation made it impossible for business to develop within social systems.

The plus is that the closure of the payment system did not have great consequences for users, because at that time no more than 1% of people (about a million people) were its participants. At the same time, existing users faced a serious problem with the withdrawal of funds. If we imagine that we were talking about a million wallets in the PS, then the amount turned out to be impressive.

That is why the procedure for disconnecting from the payment network was gradual and took place in several stages:

• Disabling the service of desires in the Vkontakte payment system.
• Possibility to spend rubles on the account in the chain stores. At the same time, the connection of new outlets was temporarily suspended.
• Three months later, the stores were disconnected from the network.

Thus, the Vkontakte money ceased to exist, but users were still able to enter funds to pay for advertising, buy votes and gifts.

Whether there are prospects for the payment system within the social network in the future is still in question. The main characters here are the administration and the Government of the Russian Federation.