Russia is a vast market with enormous potential for online and mobile commerce and a consumer base that favors foreign brands. Merchants need to understand preferred payment methods and adopt best-in-class fraud prevention tools to tap into this significant business opportunity. The card market in Russia remains under-developed, though incentives have been introduced to encourage debit and credit card payments. Central Bank of Russia figures reveal that 83% of card transactions involve cash withdrawals, with just 17% being direct payments for products and services. Figures from FICO indicate that the fraud level in Russia increased from just EUR 12.8 million in 2006 to over EUR 90 million in 2012. Euromonitor figures show a further hike as fraud reached EUR 104 million in 2013. Hacking and phishing attacks are increasing, with banks, payment systems and airlines under attack. A number of counter fraud measures are in place – including payment verification via mobile messages - and it is claimed that card fraud in Russia remains low because of this. Visa reports that fraud levels in Russia remain very low, costing the company ten times less than its global average. There has been a recent change in Russia’s approach to consumer liability for fraud. Traditionally, Russian banks had been allowed forty days to investigate fraud claims prior to reimbursing the consumer. Where the bank had suspicions that the customer was involved in fraud, then the onus was on the customer to prove their innocence in court. If the customer’s PIN had been used, they would not be compensated. A new law which came into effect in January 2013 now obliges banks to return stolen funds to victims within 24 hours. Search Laboratory has reported that issues of trust have affected the domestic e-commerce market and consumers appear more confident in buying from established foreign brand names. In 2013 the top 25 brands searched for on Yandex, the top Russian search engine with 61% share, were all overseas fashion brands. To date, 6% of Internet users have bought from a foreign e-commerce site. 23% of users now access the Internet via a mobile device and Russia has mobile phone penetration of 161%, making it a fertile market for mobile payment growth. Since mobile fraudrates remain higher than other sales channels, merchants will need to ensure they adopt the tailored fraud strategies necessary to control mobile fraud while enabling genuine customers.