Sber and MegaFon Use Algorithms to Automate Autopay
Autopay for mobile services is no longer a fixed amount charged once a month on a schedule. Sber and MegaFon have made it “smart” by launching a service that monitors account balances in real time and calculates top-ups based on subscription fees, plan charges and additional spending.
Users with smart autopay will not lose service if they run out of prepaid minutes or data earlier than expected. Whether they are in their home network or roaming, the service automatically tops up the account when needed. Users remain in control – they set limits and manage settings through the Sber app.
Algorithms Take Over Routine Control
AI-driven payment assistants are gaining momentum. Regulators are supporting this trend, and the Bank of Russia highlights the adoption of integrated payment services built on transaction data and advanced technologies.
This shift calls for reliable and secure tools that connect market participants. Russia’s IT sector is already delivering such solutions, and the joint case by Sber and MegaFon shows how this works in practice. Smart payments provide businesses with stable revenue flows, including advance payments, while consumers can stop worrying about missed payments.
From Mobile Top-Ups to a Universal Autopilot
In Russia, mobile payments are almost entirely digital – offline payments accounted for just 2% in 2025. This shift is driven by online banking and the expansion of the Faster Payments System (SBP). In the fourth quarter of 2025, 70% of users relied on it for transfers, while every second person used it to pay for goods and services.
Smart payments are likely to expand soon beyond mobile services into other recurring expenses such as home internet, utilities, subscriptions, insurance and taxes. Users will define rules and limits, while the system analyzes expenses and bills and makes payments or top-ups automatically.
“We are moving toward full automation of recurring payments – timely and with little user input. Our joint project with MegaFon – Smart Autopay – shows how partnerships boost impact,” Elena Pilyar, Director of the Payments Division at Sber, told Forbes.
Expanding Into the Ecosystem
Over the past five years, the share of cash payments for mobile services in Russia has dropped from 16% to 2%. Online payments have evolved – instant transfers to any phone number and automated recurring charges in banking apps make payments easier.
Telecom operators have expanded this further. In 2024, MegaFon began developing its own smart autopay services, and by April 2025 usage reached 19.2%, with more than 61% of transactions processed through SBP. The partnership with Sber brought the service into the app of Russia’s largest banking ecosystem in 2026.
Payments Move to Proactive Mode
Russia’s payments market is evolving beyond standalone tools toward services able to make routine decisions on behalf of the user – when to top up, through which channel and within what limits. Smart autopay is an example of predictive automation. Integration makes better use of spending data while improving user convenience.
Between 2026 and 2027, such solutions are expected to expand into other categories of recurring expenses, marking a shift from a transaction-based financial model to a proactive one, where users rely on preconfigured algorithms instead of manual actions.
