Yandex Launches Yandex.Plus Bank Card in Partnership with Leading Banks

Yandex, a technology company that builds intelligent products and services powered by machine learning, has partnered with two of Russia’s leading banks, Alfa-Bank and Tinkoff Bank, to offer consumers the new Yandex.Plus credit and debit card. Bank card users will receive up to 10% cashback on purchases on over fifteen Yandex services, as well as up to 5% cashback on other purchases.

“With the new Yandex.Plus card, everyone will benefit from great bonuses and rewards on their everyday purchases with no annual fee. Cardholders who use the Yandex ecosystem will have even greater benefits, with even more generous cashback offers on fifteen Yandex services” says Greg Abovsky, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Yandex. “For example, Yandex.Taxi users who use the card to pay for their rides will receive discounts, as will people ordering food from Yandex.Eats, making online purchases on Beru, and users of a dozen more services.”

The Yandex.Plus card is a World Mastercard credit or debit card that is ideal for everyday purchases and online payments. The cashback advantages of the card include:

• 10% cashback for a different Yandex service every three months. The first service will be Yandex.Taxi. Users will receive 10% off rides until the end of July, when the reward will become available for another Yandex service.
• 5% cashback on purchases from fifteen Yandex services, including ecommerce goods from Beru; food delivery from Yandex.Eats; car sharing through Yandex.Drive; event tickets from Yandex.Afisha; and travel tickets with Yandex.Travel.
• 5% cashback on purchases in four categories: restaurants, entertainment, sports goods, and educational services.
• 1% cashback on all other purchases.

In addition to the cashback rewards, Yandex.Plus cardholders who spend over 5,000 rubles a month ($78 USD) will be redeemed their Yandex.Plus subscription fee at the end of the month. The Yandex.Plus subscription provides full access to Yandex.Music, discounts on Yandex.Taxi and Yandex.Drive, free delivery on Beru, as well as other benefits. Yandex.Plus cardholders will receive the additional discounts and benefits of the Yandex.Plus subscription service on top of the cashback rewards of the card.

“We are excited to offer a useful and valuable banking product that gives our customers an opportunity to enjoy cashback rewards and discounts on Yandex services. This partnership is very important to us, as it provides access for our clients to top quality financial and non-financial services supplied by Alfa-Bank and Yandex,” says Michael Tuch, Retail Business Director of Alfa-Bank.

“The Yandex.Plus bank card by Tinkoff Bank is the right banking product for the modern consumer. It is perfect for anyone who cannot imagine their life without technology, who values their time and uses Yandex services. This bank card offers all the benefits that a partnership between two of the largest ecosystems can provide – customer-oriented terms of service, cashback rewards, and access to Tinkoff lifestyle services,” says Artem Yamanov, Senior Vice President of Tinkoff Bank.

“Russia has some of the world’s most innovative payment technologies and a wide adoption of bank cards. Russians love cashless payments for their convenience and speed. They appreciate the value and privileges that a bank card can provide, such as cashback rewards, bonuses, and special offers. According to recent public opinion research, eight out of ten customers named cashback reward program as the key factor when choosing a bank card,” said Alexey Malinovsky, Head of Mastercard in Russia. “The banking cards that we have presented today both offer favorable terms and conditions and combine unique advantages from each of the partners in this project.”

The Yandex.Plus bank card has no membership fees. Cashback rewards are paid to the card in rubles every month. The card will be available for customers in Russia starting on April 23.