State-controlled Sberbank, which has customers in 18 countries, launched the service together with Western Union. For a transfer fee of 1%, customers can credit an Alipay account in Chinese yuan with just the recipient's full name and phone number.
Inter-bank transfers using a mobile number are common in Russia. Sberbank now offers cross-border transfers in more than 30 countries. Other Russian banks, such as online-only Tinkoff also offer similar services.
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