Anastasiya Terekhina, Senior Partner at FBK, ACCA, has shared her perspective with Kommersant on the strategy behind Russian banks' decision to launch mobile communications services. The expert argues that the expansion into MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) services is primarily a tool for financial institutions to boost customer loyalty and retention, rather than a direct source of income from telecom services.
According to the publication, financial institutions are actively developing mobile communications services using the virtual operator model. Anastasia Terekhina emphasises that, at this stage, it is still too early to speak of revenue or profit gains from cross‑selling telecom products.
‘The main goal of banking ecosystems in this space is to attract a large subscriber pool for the subsequent sale of all ecosystem products,’ she notes. ‘Profit for the mobile operator itself is not an end in itself. For banks, the profitability of this business is measured indirectly—through improved LTV (customer lifetime value) and reduced customer churn in their core banking activities’.
The FBK expert also spoke on the key competitive advantage that financial institutions have: subscriber acquisition costs are lower for banks than for traditional mobile operators. This is achieved by using their in-house retail banking networks and cross‑offer mechanisms, which enables them to offer customers discounts and bonuses when joining their mobile service.
