And so far away: four banks will test the opening of accounts via video link
At least four credit institutions are ready to test the opening of accounts for customers with remote identification via video communication. Gazprombank, MTS Bank, Delobank and OTP Bank informed Izvestia about such plans. The details of the pilot project should be prepared by the Central Bank in the coming months. Now, to open an account, you either need to come to the office in person, or meet with a courier for identification, or do it through third—party platforms such as Finuslugi, but you can only make a deposit or take out a loan there, not get a card. Now the financial market has decided to revive the initiative that banks promoted back in the pandemic. What are the risks of fraud here — in the material of Izvestia.
Is it possible to open a bank account online
The largest banks are planning to participate in an experiment that allows remote identification of customers and opening accounts for them via video communication. In particular, Gazprombank is interested in testing the new technology when servicing business clients, Svetlana Yakovleva, head of the Department of Digital Corporate Services, told Izvestia.
OTP Bank is also ready to participate in the pilot project on video identification of customers and support its implementation at the highest possible level, said Ivan Bakhmat, Director of Digital Business Development. MTS Bank and Delobank are also planning to participate in the experiment, their representatives said.
The president signed the law on the possibility of establishing an experimental legal regime in Russia, under which a bank will be able to remotely identify a customer when opening an account, on April 7. Now the Central Bank must prepare the details of the regulation of this experiment. Prior to that, following the results of the Russia Is Calling forum in December 2024, the president instructed the government and the Central Bank to ensure that legislation is amended by July 15 to allow banks to remotely identify customers, including using VCS under the experimental legal regime (EPR).
Izvestia sent inquiries to the Bank of Russia and Rosfinmonitoring about the timing and details of the pilot.
In a positive scenario, the market expects that regulators will be able to coordinate the EPR Program by the end of the summer, the head of the National Council of the Financial Market told Izvestia (NSFR — the association actively participated in promoting the initiative). Andrey Emelin. After that, it will be necessary to certify the VKS systems for use in the experiment. And then, based on them, work out scenarios within each participating bank. In this case, it will be possible to conduct the first customer identification tests using videoconferencing in an experimental mode as early as 2026, he expects.
Why do I need video identification when opening an account?
Currently, the "anti-money laundering" legislation requires the personal presence of a person in the bank's office when he opens an account there for the first time. Another option is that identification is carried out by an on—site employee who arrives at a place convenient for the person. However, as a rule, such couriers may not arrive anywhere in Russia.
There are other exceptions: for example, you can open a deposit or take out a loan through a third—party platform - Finuslugi. However, you cannot get a regular debit card for payments through it. A customer who has submitted their biometric data to the EBS in advance can also remotely open an account with a new bank. However, this requires at least one visit to the office of the credit institution or to the MFC.
Therefore, it is planned to test another option on the market — the identification of the client by VCS.
— The banking community began implementing a pilot to test video identification technology back in 2020, which was especially important due to the pandemic. At that time, an understanding was formed about the need for special regulation, which appeared a few years later in the form of the EPR Law. And then we continued our work, the importance of which was confirmed by the president with his special instruction — the draft law on video identification has waited in the wings," said Andrey Emelin.
In the spring of 2025, when the document was considered in the State Duma, the NSFR, at the suggestion of the Central Bank, organized a meeting with banks. They confirmed that the demand for functionality remains on the market, he added.
The mechanism being created is required, for example, if a person lives in a remote or sparsely populated area where there are no bank offices and couriers do not travel there, Andrey Emelin explained. Another example is opening an account for people with disabilities and making financial services more accessible to them. Finally, such an opportunity is needed simply against the background of the general development of technology and the acceleration of the pace of life of people who are used to receiving services online and are quite ready to change banks with more competitive offers.
— Remote account opening is convenient for both the client and the bank. This significantly expands the list of available financial institutions: previously, the client was forced to choose from options with not always favorable conditions. Now they will have access to more players and will be able to get what suits them," said Maxim Svetovtsev, Director of Delobank.
Are there any risks in opening accounts via video link
The experiment assumes that a bank employee will carry out the same identification as in the personal presence of a person in the office of a financial organization, but only through a different channel — using the VKS, emphasized Andrey Emelin from the NSFR. In other words, the verification of documents will be completely standard: for example, the passport will be authenticated both by technical means and through a special service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
— The main thing that needs to be tested in the experiment is the special conditions for the security of the client's image transmission channels. As well as technical and some other ways to prevent fraud. For example, the control that there is a real person in front of the screen, and not a computer fake, and the passport belongs to him. To do this, it is necessary to develop and coordinate algorithms for the work of employees and carefully train them," explained Andrey Emelin.
However, almost always the remote authentication method will be less reliable than a personal appearance at the office with documents, says Vladimir Ulyanov, head of the analytical center of Zecurion, which specializes in cybersecurity. In addition to the technical side of the issue, there is also a psychological factor that deters fraudsters from face-to-face communication.
— If an attacker posing as another person is caught with forged documents at a bank branch, he will be immediately detained. In contrast, a remote procedure is akin to a computer game. If it didn't work out today, you can try another day, at another bank or with other documents," said Vladimir Ulyanov.
The experimental mode is aimed at practical verification of such threats, summarized Alexey Voylukov, MBA Professor of business Practice in digital Finance at the Presidential Academy. The main risk is the use of conventional video cameras and non-certified software, which does not exclude the possibility of image falsification.
— Modern machine learning and image generation technologies, including deepfakes, make it possible to fake videos at a high level. The objective of the experiment is to determine whether the system can automatically detect fakes and detect interference in video materials in real conditions," explained Alexey Voylukov.
Today's technologies already allow us to solve such problems, but it is practice that will show how feasible this is in everyday life, when using standard video communication channels for ordinary customers.
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