In this article I would like to introduce you one of the most popular Russian e-payment systems — Yandex.Money. You will learn how to register and create a wallet in Yandex.Money and how to top up your balance.
Yandex.Money is the main rival of WebMoney and Paypal on the Russian market of electronic payments and is quite popular among Runet users. Thousands of Russian e-commerce websites and internet services support Yandex.Money payments. Nowadays it is also one of the most popular user-to-user e-payments services in Russia. Yandex.Money is safe and user-friendly.
Signing up in Yandex.Money
To begin registration, go to http://money.yandex.ru. If you see a website in Russian language you can switch it into English in the lower right corner, by clicking on the flag:
Now click Open a Wallet button. In order to register in Yandex.Money you need to either create an email account on Yandex (just like for any Google service you need a Gmail account) or you can login using your social network accounts, just like me on this screenshot:
If you prefer to create an e-mail account, fill in the form. If you have Yandex e-mail account, click I already have an account and enter your username and password. Then you must enter the correct mobile phone number, as you will receive a confirmation code.
Immediately after you submit the form your account will be created and you will be taken to the Yandex.Money main screen:
Account status and payment limits
In Yandex.Money user can have three status of account: anonymous, reviewed (available only for Russian citizens) and identified. Immediately after registration you have an anonymous status, which only allows you to top up your account, and then spend the money, for example, in online store, which accepts Yandex.Money. But you can’t accept money from other users, or send money to them.
To be able to transfer money to other users, you should pass the identification process. In addition, you will also increase the limit for bank transfer (up to 200 000 rubles), limit of payments in online stores (up to 250 000 rubles) and the transfer limits for other Yandex.Money users (up to 400 000 rubles).
Identification of Yandex.Money account
Unfortunately, for users outside Russia the most convenient way of identification is sending documents to the Yandex office in Moscow. The current list of documents you will find here.
I’d only mention that it is not as difficult as it seems. What should you do:
- fill in and print out a short application https://money.yandex.ru/i/forms/eng_identification_application.pdf
- find a Russian translator to do the translation of your passport (page with photo and signature and page with information about your registration)
- notarize your passport copy
- send application and notarized passport copy to the address mentioned here.
How to top up your Yandex.Money account?
Citizens of Lithuania, Latvia and Turkey can top up their accounts using VISA/MasterCard. For the rest of the EU countries and the US you have two options:
- receive a payment from another Yandex.Money user;
- make a bank transfer;
- user online e-money exchanger, for example https://www.bestchange.ru/paypal-usd-to-yandex-money.html
So, to top up your account with bank transfer you can find the current bank details here (if you have Russian interface, you can change the language at the bottom right, clicking on the flag). Remember that your bank charges a fee for a foreign transfer. For example, in case of Raiffeisen Bank in Poland, it charges ~17 EUR.
If you’re going to make a bank transfer in rubles, your bank will ask for the VO code. VO codes are defined by the Central Bank of Russia and they are used to describe the subjects of payments. So, in this case the proper code is “VO99090”. Remember to add this line in your payment details.
If you have any questions on how to use Yandex.Money, please leave a comment below or write me an email.
Hello sir
I am shoaib from pakistan can i use yandex wallet in pakistan??.?
Hi Shoaib,
Sure, why not. You can top up your Yandex account using bank transfer from any country.
thank you for reply me but how can i identify my account of yandex wallet i have no any idea for identify my account so sir can u help me????
Hi, in the text there is an instruction. Have you tried it?
Hi, I’m from Turkey. I add my bank card. But yandex.money wants passaport for buying anything. What can I do for this?
Hi, you should verify your account to pay with bank card. Please contact the Yandex.Money support for help.
Wondering if you can help me. I would really appreciate it. Got some money in a yandex account, Is there any way I can use it without verification? (AM not russian, and verification would cost way too much)
IS non verified useable IN store only? or how do russians normally use it?
Thanks
Hi Bryce,
Unfortunately with anonymous account you can pay only in Russian stores. You can find more details about it here: https://money.yandex.ru/doc.xml?id=523691#anonym
Kak ja magu preslat cvam moj ID ?? u mena jest dengi na konte nu ja nemagu neccevo snime delot poka neaktizirvon moi id .. pomogite ppazalusta . spasibo
Hi Konstantin. One of my friend has a revieved yandex account, but when he tired to transfer 55000 rubles from Italy with his bank card to an russian yandex wallet numbe,r yandex tells him that he can only send 15000 rubles. What could cause that, maybe he should top up his yandex wallet account first, and then he could manage the whole transfer? Is there a way to transfer 3 times 15000 rubles and one time 10000 rubles in one day? Thank you for your help.
Hi Matt, I remember that we’ve discussed your friend’s issue by email. Did you find the solution?
hello how can I transfer yandex money to a paypal account
Hello Mark,
Try these exchangers: https://www.bestchange.com/yandex-money-to-paypal-usd.html
hello sir. how can i add money on my yandex wallet? i have earned thousands of rubbles from a russian advertising company site. How can i transfer it? what are the processes?
Hi, you want them to transfer this money to you? Give them your Yandex.Money wallet ID. Then you can exchange it to Paypal (link in the post).
Hello can i link yandex card to paypal and withdraw paypal to it please help
As far as I know it’s impossible.
Hello. Sorry to bother you. i Want to transfer money from wallet to wallet. i AM a US citizen and my lady is from Crimea. She has a wallet account. I know i need to notarize my passport and have it translated. What is an apostille?
Hi James,
Here you will find the info: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal-considerations/judicial/authentication-of-documents/notarial-and-authentication-apostille.html
Hi good day!
I from the Philippines, I’m currently trying to work for a Russian Online Ads Comp, I saw an option to use Yandex, if I got this correctly I need to identify myself 1st before my employer can send money to my Yandex Wallet?
Wondering if you can help me. I ask my customer to give me his Paypal number to transfer money to him. but he sent me his yandex.money account. I don’t have yandex.money accout and I’m not russian. What should I do?
Hello I have a question I got a visa card in Egypt so in order to get the mastercard yandex I need to buy it with my visa in rubles but my curreny in my visa is in EGP currency what should I do should I add the equivalent quantity and the currency will be exchanged automatically?
Hello.Is it possible to make a one time purchase trough Yandex Money without sending documents since I’m not from Russia?
Hi, if you want to transfer money to other users – it’s impossible.
I don’t have a russian passport, but this is required for transfering money to another e-wallet, what can i do?
You should should pass the identification process.
They regularily boast about what can be done with the account and then change the advertising text and lock it down and then transfer the money to their accounts (because “you havent used the account”, which is impossible then, because it cant be used to buy in russian shops as they do not send to a foreign country, only top up russian mobiles, it cant even be sent to another user or card). Also it is not enough to send documents to the russian office as they need to be apostilled and this is more expensive to buy 10 items elsewhere. The writer has no idea what he is talking about.
They dont care for any legal system and not for cybercrime and start to nag the users to be able to lock the account. In general the difference to Paypal is not too much, but sure it is an interesting experience to deal with a 100% fraudulent company, also the western accounts will not be locked down, as the financial authorities dont care for claims and they started to make “international business” if the get claims they see new political “income chances”. Just check the media and the consumer protection sites. Theyll just tell you that you abuse children and lock your account.
corr a) their bank accounts will not be locked down for fraud
b) “they”
This post was published more than a year ago. Now on Yandex support page there is a list of countries which don’t need apostille: https://yandex.ru/support/money/identification/by-mail.html
Yes, if you didn’t identify your profile you cannot send money to another user, it’s written in their rules.
Yandex Money is Russian payment service. If you knew that you are not able to use it for your purposes (yes, Russian shops often do not sent abroad), or don’t need it at all, then why would you even register?
As I told you I can repeat it again but I already spent 100 hours of working time with them. When I registered they stated a fat and broad text for what it can be used. When they had enough money they changed that text and started to collect the money as user couldnt use their account. You are right they could top up russian mobile phones, which international users do not have. I started to go after them so they simply dont process SMS codes and collect the money further. As I do Online trading and collecting cigarette papers I have experiences with many services worldwide, but this is the most fraudulent one.
Maybe they needed like 100.000 Eur for their finlandish Bank as I recall. So if they need another 100.000 what will be next?
After collecting 250 Rub each month because I didnt send them more monies they had a button where one could click and defer the payments for 3 months. Of course there are differences between countries where the average income differs by x5 which can be extrene sometimes but as I said I have experienced a lot, but this “service” beats all of it, if they do this to only one American they have 100 years media ban. there are a lot of scandals also with german virtual money services, but with these one can at least believe that they do any work.
If you check the links in google you will see that almost all shops announced they will work with them but now only 3-5 international businesses take payment from them.
So if you search google for Yandex Payment it looks like they only take in the biggest, not like how much fraud they did.
It is hard to believe, but if one collects like 50.000 different cigarette papers hell sell them off after contact with this “company”, you need to keep in mind that they probably have 1/2 bottle (or more like 1) of vodka in these winter times and are “we can do it all” artists in security and SQl, unfortunately the customer is the medium of these “skills”. I wonder why Eve Online and Steam hasnt shut down up to now as a result of dealing with them. Not to say that they EU is soo much different, but the external experience can be mind blowing when set to “communistic” “sharing” as a support contact.
a) -y
b) 1 bottle per day
Ho do i make puchases ii need zip code for the card
Why is it that I can’t link this with my PayPal,you guys gave a visa card number but my PayPal can’t accept it in the USA,and If someone wants to send money to this account can they use the account number
Please contact Yandex.Money support, I’m not affiliated with them.
I downloaded the identification application.but in that form they says write in in Cyrillic characters and in Latin characters. i did not understand it.can i use regular english fonts for fillup this form? and one more qustion. how can i translate english passport? can you show me a demo of passport translation? there is no russian translator in my area.
Good morning, i am Kartik here, i am company in malaysia send student to Russia, is it possible for me to use yandex money for transfer money from my wallet to University Bank Account or other Local Russian Company Bank Account, thanks
Can i use yandex to pay international????
I am from India. I want to transfer money to Crimea from India using Yandex. Is it secured? I have doubt. I am in a fix about it’s security. Hence asked question. I’m looking forward for the answer.
Why i need to make passport to purchase something?? Im not russian, but i can`t pay if i dont have a russian passport.
Hi Konstantin,
I’m from Egypt. I want to dispatch my application and passport copy for the identification process. What will be the usual accepted Authority to provide the notary service for these documents? Is it the Russian Embassy in my country or it is just the Egyptian ministry of foreign affairs?
Hi, how are you?
I cannot find what are the fees for receiving money from abroad in different currencies and what arethe fees for sending money abroad in different currencies. I am sure there is some yandex fees + trasfer fees, right?
Could you help me with this? Thank you!
Hi, i have 2 questions, i want to send money to a friend in russia to get a book for me and ship it, can i just send money from my paypal to her yandex? and i’m from Mexico do you know if i get a Yandex Acc. and i want to withdraw funds from it to my (Mexican) bank acc. is there a fee? thanks in advance))
Hi, maybe it would be easier for you friend to create a Paypal account? Paypal is available in Russia.
Regarding your second question please contact Yandex Money support.
Hi,
Why can I not link a Visa or MasterCard issued from a United States of America bank? Is your organization planning to take any steps in the near future to remove this kind of a restriction?
Thank you for the answer
Hi Igor,
I’m not affiliated with Yandex.Money. Please contact with its support.
Hi, I want to transfer WMZ to yandex wallet, Is it possible?
From the USA can u do a one time transfer from a bank card to yandex wallet. If not how do I do it
Hi Konstantin, how long does it normally takes Yandex Moscow office to review and authorize application and ID of non-resident? Thank you for prompt reply