Starting September 1, 2026, Russia will officially launch a fast transfer service for securities between accounts — an analog of the SBP (Fast Payment System), but for assets. However, as my analysis of the situation shows, by the time of launch, the industry has still failed to resolve two critical issues that directly affect the convenience and safety of the new operations. This concerns the m2m transfer mechanism, which is supposed to radically simplify life for investors.
How the new mechanism works
Previously, transferring a portfolio from one broker to another was a real ordeal: the procedure stretched from several days to three weeks or more. During this time, the market value of assets could change significantly, and the client had to submit matching orders to two depositories at once, meticulously verifying every detail. The slightest mistake — and the transfer fell through.
The new system, operated by the National Settlement Depository (part of the Moscow Exchange group), changes the rules of the game. The investor only needs to submit a single order to debit the securities — everything else happens automatically. As I noted earlier, this is exactly the simplification that the Central Bank also pointed to, seeking to break the so-called "depository bondage," when clients are retained not by the quality of services but by the difficulty of switching.
Who is ready for the launch
Most major players are ready to join the launch: VTB, SberInvestments, T-Investments, Finam, BCS World of Investments, Tsifra Broker, Renaissance Broker, KIT Finance, Veles Capital, and Rikom-Trust. VTB has already become a pioneer, connecting to the industrial circuit back on August 17 and starting full-cycle testing with a market counterparty in July. According to plans, one operation will take about five minutes, and in a year — only two.
Two unresolved problems
However, despite the readiness of the infrastructure, two significant gaps remain. The first relates to individual investment accounts (IIA). The system does not yet recognize their type, creating a risk of assets ending up in a regular brokerage account. In this case, the investor loses tax benefits — and that is a serious blow to returns. Major companies have confirmed: this problem will not be solved before September 1.
The second difficulty is the absence of a unified register of qualified investors, which the Central Bank proposed creating back in 2022. With an instant transfer, the receiving party does not have time to verify the client's status. As a result, operations with securities available only to qualified participants will be rejected.
Managing Director of Rikom-Trust, Dmitry Tselishchev, confirmed: both problems will be addressed after the official launch of the project. The service will go live on schedule, but at the first stage, some operations will remain unavailable.
My comment: The situation is typical for the Russian market — a hasty launch to meet deadlines leaves "loose ends" in the form of technical and regulatory shortcomings. Investors with IIA and qualified status should exercise caution in the first months of the service's operation to avoid losing benefits or facing transaction rejections. Nevertheless, the very fact of such a mechanism emerging is a powerful step toward increasing competition and liquidity in the market.