Russia is driving the migration of banking and government verification codes and transaction notifications to MAX, its domestic instant messaging platform. Following industry lobbying and multi-stakeholder negotiations, the country’s four major mobile operators officially reached a cooperation agreement in May 2026: notifications will be prioritized for delivery via MAX, with automatic fallback to SMS in case of delivery failure. This shift is steadily reshaping the landscape of the local A2P SMS market.
In January 2026, the National Council of the Financial Market (NSFR, НСФР) proposed to the Ministry of Digital Development that legislation be enacted to recognize MAX push notifications as a legally valid independent alternative channel for verification codes. The council opposed a mandatory dual-channel delivery model requiring both MAX and SMS, arguing that dual delivery would increase costs, undermine user experience, and that SMS itself has relatively weak security. Later, regarding the "Anti-Fraud 2.0" bill, the council formally rejected the mandatory dual-channel provision. The Central Bank also stated that the time was not yet ripe for mandatory implementation, while the banking sector put forward the demand that operators should provide relevant services free of charge if MAX use is made mandatory.
In May 2026, four major operators — MTS (МТС), Beeline (Билайн), MegaFon (МегаФон) and T2 (Т2) — signed a strategic cooperation agreement with MAX. Bank verification codes, transaction alerts, and e-commerce authorization messages will all be integrated into the MAX platform. The system features two identity-verified encrypted folders: "Confirmation Verification Codes" and "Practical Notifications"; highly sensitive messages will only be delivered to trusted devices pre-selected by users. If delivery via the MAX channel fails, messages will automatically be downgraded to traditional SMS free of charge.
The ecosystem has continued to expand since then. In June 2026, MAX integrated with the Fast Payment System (SBP, СБП) operated by the National Payment Card System (NSPK, НСПК), with five banks taking the lead in supporting in-IM transfers. Starting in August, all data traffic generated by MAX usage for subscribers of the four major operators has been made free of charge. In September, banks, operators, and some government service providers began migrating their notification pipelines in batches, covering scenarios such as payment reminders, traffic fines, and medical appointment notifications.
From the perspective of the A2P business, MAX has diverted verification code and transaction traffic that was originally carried by SMS, yet SMS remains indispensable as a fallback channel. Cross-border service providers need to pay close attention to the changes in traffic structure brought about by the diversification of notification channels in Russia.
