Oschadbank: Our mobile acquiring service is used by delivery services, Ukrzaliznytsia, and the police

 Throughout 2025, Oschadbank increased the number of its acquiring service users by 15%.

— Tell us how you develop innovative solutions at the bank and who initiates them.

— Oschadbank is one of Ukraine’s largest banks, with over 16,000 employees working there every day. Any colleague—from a teller at a branch to a department director—can propose changes and innovative solutions. For example, at the start of the full-scale war, customers who were in temporarily occupied territories or had left the country did not have a convenient way to contact the bank. So Oschadbank was the first to give customers the option to call the bank via Rakuten Viber—a messaging app installed on the smartphones of over 75% of Ukrainians. Such solutions are being implemented across all business lines. At the same time, we maintain a clear chain of command, where the head of the respective division is responsible for the results. This maintains a balance between creative ideas and the viability of solutions. The goal of our work is to transform the customer experience into high-quality services, not just to come up with new services.

— What innovative solutions are you implementing right now?

— Last year, Oschadbank connected to the international processing centers Cybersource and MPGS. We are now ready to serve global-level clients by integrating with complex cross-border payment technologies. A successful example is the integration of our acquiring services into the McDonald’s mobile app. Another important step was the implementation of Tap to Phone technology for iOS. This is a significant leap forward for the small and medium-sized business segment, transforming a regular iPhone into a full-fledged payment tool. We recently launched the Partial Approval service (flexible payment with multiple cards) and introduced the ability to process online refunds for returned goods.

— What new ideas and solutions do you plan to implement in 2026, and what is the basis for them?

— 2025 was a productive year for our acquiring business, so 2026 will be a year of refining the services we’ve already launched. We’re preparing to launch an analytics platform for merchants and integrate service desks for quick processing of service requests. We are actively working on changing our approach to service onboarding—at the end of 2025, we implemented online onboarding for acquiring services without the need to visit a bank. Such solutions remain a priority for us.

— What role does innovation play in Oschadbank’s strategic program?

— Innovation is the foundation of any bank’s strategy in 2026. We are seeing Ukrainian retail transform into powerful financial ecosystems. Marketplaces, postal services, and online stores already have their own payment tools and lending services. So today, the formula for us is simple: if a bank isn’t online, it doesn’t exist in the market. At Oschadbank, the modernization and further digitalization of services form the basis of our development strategy through 2028. The implementation of innovative solutions cannot be piecemeal, as this is an end-to-end process. However, acquiring, lending, and digital accessibility remain the top priorities for development. These are precisely the areas where customers expect maximum accessibility from us.

— The further we go, the more fleeting global trends become, including in the banking sector. How do you plan to develop technology and innovation in such a dynamic environment, especially given the realities in Ukraine?

— Market trends and key developments are indeed changing rapidly. But this process is always predictable. For example, the transition to the ISO 20022 standard and the introduction of Open Banking were planned steps that set the course for technological development for years to come. In addition, every bank observes microtrends in transactions: how the average transaction amount is changing, how the share of contactless payments is growing, and how customers are shifting from branches to mobile apps. These figures outline a clear roadmap. Therefore, the foundation of technological development lies in combining rigorous planning with high adaptability. We invest in infrastructure and digital literacy to build a flexible architecture that allows us to implement new technological modules on a time-tested foundation. This approach has enabled us to transition approximately 80% of key banking services to a fully digital format.

— What was the growth trend in the number of businesses acquiring users at Oschadbank over the past year?

— Provide a customer with a service that fully satisfies them, and they’ll bring you two more potential customers. That’s why we’ve seen steady growth of around 15% in our acquiring customer base over the past year. Quality service, full functionality, and speed play a much greater role than mere price considerations. In addition, partnership projects are a key driver of growth, and we plan to focus on deepening them this year. As for the leading categories, historically these are segments that meet the basic needs of the population: fuel companies, grocery chains, and pharmacies.

— How are traditional retail and online acquiring currently distributed at Oschadbank?

— Today, there is a clear pattern: retail acquiring still accounts for three-quarters of all our transactions (about 84%), while online acquiring generates a significantly higher average transaction value—starting at 600 UAH. This distribution is quite logical, since we view the POS terminal as a tool for daily, quick “on-the-go” purchases. Online acquiring more often accompanies planned expenditures. Despite all the talk about digitalization and technological advancements, POS terminals are more convenient and familiar to our customers. Therefore, we are currently focused on expanding traditional acquiring in the large and medium-sized business segments. For small businesses, the OschadPAY app could become the primary method of accepting payments, transforming a cashier’s smartphone into a full-fledged cash register, business, and payment ecosystem. Online acquiring remains an excellent tool for large retailers and partner companies.

— How is mobile acquiring going for you?

— We were the first in Ukraine to implement mobile acquiring in the OschadPAY app on the Android platform, and later on iOS as well. During the implementation phase, there were expectations that it would completely replace traditional POS terminals. However, reality turned out to be more interesting, and the service found its own unique niche, becoming indispensable for small businesses. OschadPAY is ideal for delivery services, taxis, street vendors, and mobile retailers—for businesses where mobility and the absence of excess equipment are crucial. Large businesses also actively use this tool as a reliable backup channel during blackouts or for courier services.

— What are you doing to attract new customers—acquiring users?

— Modesty aside, OschadPAY is the best on the market in terms of functionality and technology. In addition to standard payments and refunds with fiscalization, we have implemented cash fiscalization and post-transaction payments with custom payment descriptions. Online onboarding also helps attract customers, as merchants can start using acquiring services without visiting a bank.

— What new solutions have you implemented in the acquiring sector over the past year?

— If I had to focus on one project that was both the most challenging and the most interesting, I’d mention the implementation of on-the-spot traffic ticket payments directly on police officers’ smartphones. On the one hand, it was technically complex to implement: every payment is unique and requires precise details and a specific purpose. On the other hand, we had to conduct extensive training and help overcome certain habits and stereotypes among payers. I’m proud to say we succeeded. Currently, about 600 police crews are accepting payments for traffic violations and administrative fines directly through our app.