A new wave of Russian immigrants has landed in the United States, but they represent a technical accomplishment and not huddled masses.
The devices, widely used by Russians to pay for mobile and Internet services, will be in test mode during 2013. Based on the results, Qiwi will decide whether to start commercial operations.
The U.S. market has less potential for payment terminal operators than Russia, as most Americans have postpaid cell phone plans, with fees charged directly to a customer’s credit card, said Ilya Rachenkov, an analyst with Investkafe.
But the large size of the population and the high cost of mobile services compared with Russian tariffs could generate profit for terminal operators, he added.
