Statement by Alfa-Bank CEO Petr Smida addressed to customers of the Bank in connection with occasional rejections of Alfa-Bank plastic cards for payme

Dear Customers of Alfa-Bank!

Despite cardinal improvement of the situation in the market and the cessation of panic, we have encountered unreasonable refusals to serve Alfa-Bank plastic cards by certain merchants and at cash dispensers served by third-party banks.

I want to draw your attention to the fact that these cases do not originate from any restrictions imposed by Alfa-Bank or international payment systems (Visa, MasterCard), but are initiated by certain mala fide banks serving these merchants. Alfa-Bank continues to meet its obligations, and the Bank’s cards are operating full-scale without any limitations.

The third-party banks that impose limitations on their merchants to serve Alfa-Bank’s plastic cards are seriously breaching the law of the Russian Federation and the regulations of payment systems. As a result, they may face administrative sanctions, up to penalties or even revocation of their licenses by payment systems and/or reciprocal actions on the part of Alfa-Bank.
If you were refused service of your card, it is imperative to keep any and all documentary proof of the incident (terminal payment cheques with an indication of the reason for rejection, ATM slips, copies of any official announcement and/or written affirmation by vendors of the refusal to serve, etc), and report the merchant (and possibly — the acquirer) to Alfa-Bank indicating the company’s domicile, as well as the time and amount of the failed purchase. We need this information in order to file claims against infringing banks and impose administrative sanctions against them.

Additionally, some rejections have taken place not through the fault of banks, but because of a lack of information or incompetence on the part of a vendor’s staff. These cases are also under investigation.

And finally, we are aware of some cases of malpractice on the part of even sufficiently large banks that unreasonably hinder the transfer of funds to Alfa-Bank accounts. We are collecting all the information from such incidents and are taking every precaution to protect our customers.
For all questions related to similar cases, call your nearest Alfa-Bank branch or +7 095 777-32-52 (Alfa-Bank’s Call Center).

I am confident that with your help we will identify and make answerable those who are exploiting the current situation to stir unhealthy speculation around the normal business of one of Russia’s leading banks.

Faithfully yours,
Petr Smida
Chief Executive OfficeAlfa-Bank