Russians are already accustomed to quick and convenient payment for goods and services: by bank card, via a QR code, or through the Fast Payment System. However, the development of payment technologies continues, and in mid‑2025, a new contactless scenario began to develop actively in Russia — paying with a smartphone via Bluetooth Low Energy, or BLE.

Starting from the third quarter of 2025, Bluetooth payments began to gain momentum quickly and started appearing in various banks across Russia. According to some data, as early as the second quarter of 2026, Russians made 86 million payments via Bluetooth, totaling 64 billion rubles.

In this article, we will explore what BLE payments are, how they differ from NFC, how Bluetooth payments work, and which BLE services are already in use in Russia.

What are BLE payments?

BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) is a technology designed for exchanging small amounts of data between devices. BLE is part of the Bluetooth standard and is used in smartphones, smartwatches, fitness trackers, sensors, Internet of Things devices, and other electronics.

The main difference between BLE and classic Bluetooth is the ability to operate with minimal power consumption, which is especially important for mobile devices and small gadgets.

BLE payments are a method of contactless payment using a smartphone with Bluetooth Low Energy technology instead of traditional NFC.

In Russia, interest in BLE payments began to grow actively in the mid‑2020s, when users started looking for alternatives to the familiar NFC (Near Field Communication) payment method. Banks and payment services began to implement their own Bluetooth‑based solutions, making the technology one of the new ways of contactless payment.

BLE and NFC: what is the fundamental difference

Both BLE and NFC can be used for wireless interaction between a smartphone and a payment terminal. However, technologically, this is where their similarities almost end.

NFC is designed for data transmission over very short distances: to pay for purchases using NFC, the user needs to bring the device almost вплотную to the terminal.

In turn, BLE allows for establishing a wireless connection over a slightly greater distance.

Of course, for an average user, this difference is not so noticeable, since the most important thing here is the absence of the need to use a bank card. However, from a technical point of view, these are different methods of data exchange. NFC is initially well suited for short, contactless interactions, while BLE was developed as an energy‑efficient method of wireless communication between devices.

In Russia, the spread of BLE payments became especially relevant after the familiar NFC payments turned out to be inaccessible for some users. First and foremost, this affected iPhone owners who do not have access to alternative Apple Pay services. Russian payment apps cannot use NFC on an iPhone for their own contactless payment scenario.

How BLE payment works

Payment via BLE begins when a smartphone detects a compatible payment terminal using Bluetooth Low Energy. The terminal transmits the data required for the payment, and the mobile app uses it to generate and confirm the transaction. The user confirms the payment in the app, and the transaction itself is processed through the payment infrastructure of a bank or another payment service.

Outwardly, this scenario is similar to the familiar payment with a card or a smartphone via NFC: you just need to bring the device close to the terminal and wait for the transaction to be confirmed. At the same time, another convenience is preserved – the absence of a strict need for an internet connection. The BLE connection itself does not require a network, but the ability to make a payment without an internet connection depends on the specific service: some solutions pre‑load the necessary payment data or tokens into the app and allow them to be used offline.

Popular BLE payment services in Russia

Interest in BLE payments in Russia grew after the usual methods of contactless payment using a smartphone became unavailable for some users. This was especially true for iPhone owners: the NFC module in the devices continues to work, but Russian payment apps do not have the same ability to use it for payment as the system‑wide Apple Pay. BLE has allowed banks to implement their own contactless payment scenarios via Bluetooth and compatible payment terminals.

Today, there are several BLE services on the Russian market. One of the most notable is “Volna,” developed by NSPK. The technology enables a mobile app to interact with a payment terminal via Bluetooth Low Energy and can be used by banks to implement their own payment services. The solution supports devices running iOS and Android.

Large banks are also developing their own BLE scenarios. Sber uses Bluetooth technology in the “Vzhukh” service, which allows you to pay for purchases using a smartphone without NFC. T‑Bank implements Bluetooth payments via T‑Pay, while Alfa‑Bank uses BLE in Alfa Pay, including for payment scenarios without an internet connection.

The main issue remains the terminals, as not all of them currently support this technology, and retail outlets require modifications or new POS devices to accept payments via BLE.