Russia’s T-Bank To Open Branches In Xi’an and Shanghai

Russia’s T-Bank (formally Tinkoff Bank) has revealed plans to establish branches in Shanghai and Xi’an. Currently, only Russia’s VTB branch operates in China, while Sberbank and Alfa Bank have announced plans to enter the Chinese market, but their opening has not yet been announced. However, the Chinese market is in demand, especially for providing services to corporate Russian clients.

T-Bank announced their plans to open in China on December 27, although the approvals and licencing process make take up to one and a half to two years.

According to experts, entering this promising market is a completely logical step. As Alexey Voilukov, MBA professor of business practice in digital finance at RANEPA, notes, in addition to organizing and providing its clients with the opportunity to make payments and transfers to China, the main motive is the corporate client needs of Rosbank customers, who are scheduled to merge with T-Bank in Q1 2025.

In Russia, T-Bank does not have branches and is considered a neobank, with all transactions operated digitally online. T-Bank is the second largest provider of credit cards in Russia, and is one of the world’s largest digital banks, as measured by number of customers.