Sberbank offers USSD commands instead of paid SMS


Sberbank is one of the most popular banks in Russia. Currently, the credit institution has about 85 million people who are its clients. The bank offers a large number of different services, including a very convenient one: SMS commands to number 900.

However, not all clients know about the changes that have taken place, and most importantly, that the use of commands has become paid. USSD commands are offered as an alternative. What you need to know about the service and which commands are available to clients is discussed in this article.

How much does an SMS to 900 cost on Megafon?

Sending messages to number 900 from a Megafon SIM card became paid on December 3, 2021. Now using Mobile Banking via SMS costs 3 rubles. both on new and archived tariffs of the operator.

The SMS package within the tariff plan is not spent on sending these messages. These conditions apply both in your home region and in international roaming.

SMS commands to number 900

The presence of a fee for messages to the short number 900 for transactions on Sberbank cards and accounts requires careful planning, as it increases the cost of maintaining an account. Sometimes quite significant.

Exactly what operations have now become paid when contacting a bank. We suggest you consider the following table.

the name of the operationMessage textThe essence of the operation
Transfer funds by phone numberTransfer [recipient number starting with “9”] [amount of funds transferred]If your phone is linked to a card, it is very convenient to transfer between accounts using your mobile number
Transfer money knowing the card account numberTransfer [card number without spaces] [amount of funds transferred]To carry out the operation, you will need a 16-digit number on the front side of the plastic card.
Topping up the balance of a mobile phone linked to the card[amount of funds transferred]The account balance with the mobile operator is replenished without commission by the specified amount. To confirm the operation, you will receive a push notification on which you need to find and click the “Confirm” button
Transfers between cards of the same userTransfer [last 4 digits of the card from which funds are debited] [last 4 digits of the card to which funds are being transferred] [amount of funds transferred]It will be free (in terms of bank commissions)
Transfer to a card with an assigned name[card name] [amount of funds transferred]Operation for holders of several cards with individual names
Top up the balance of any mobile phone[recipient number starting with “9”] [amount of funds transferred]The account balance with the mobile operator is replenished without commission by the specified amount. To confirm the operation, you will receive a push notification on which you need to find and click the “Confirm” button
Payment for mobile communications by contact name[name of contact from address book] [amount of funds transferred]A similar action occurs
Checking the card balanceBalanceThe response message will contain information about the balance
Checking the card balance if several cards are connectedBalance [last 4 digits of card]A similar action occurs
Checking bonuses "Thank you"Thank you [last 4 digits of card]Information about the balance of the bonus account is received. The same operation is the starting one for joining the loyalty program
10 last transactionsStoryMini account statement
Debt to the bankDutyShows the amount of mandatory payment and the total debt for loan products
Checking connected cardsReferenceDisplays a list of cards
Names assigned to the most frequent recipientsListDisplays a list of names

In addition, blocking operations, enabling notifications, and disabling fast payments are carried out via SMS. The full list of teams is posted on the official Sberbank portal

.

How much does an SMS to 900 cost on Beeline?

Until 2021, messages to 900 were completely free. On September 18, 2021, everything changed: it was on this day that it was announced that Beeline would make messages to short numbers not related to paid subscriptions and entertainment services paid. Initially, the cost of messages to short phones, including the popular 900, was 2.5 rubles. a piece. Two years later, the price tag has not changed at all. Payment for SMS to bank numbers is charged not only to new subscribers, but also to those who have been using Beeline services for a long time and are connected to archived tariff plans.

How to connect a mobile bank

You can connect to the service using any Sberbank ATM. You go to the device, enter your PIN, go to the Information and Services section, then select “Connect mobile bank”. That's it, it's done.

You can also call the Sberbank hotline 900 or go to any of its offices and ask them to connect you to the service. Any method gives instant access to the service, you can use it immediately.

about the author

Irina Rusanova - higher education at the International East European University in the direction of "Banking". Graduated with honors from the Russian Economic Institute named after G.V. Plekhanov with a major in Finance and Credit. Ten years of experience in leading Russian banks: Alfa-Bank, Renaissance Credit, Home Credit Bank, Delta Credit, ATB, Svyaznoy (closed). He is an analyst and expert of the Brobank service on banking and financial stability. [email protected]

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How much does an SMS to 900 cost on Tele2?

To send a message to a Sberbank short number, you will have to use the “SMS request to service number” service. This is a paid option that is activated automatically and without confirmation when sending a message to phone 900. Its cost is 3 rubles. a piece.

An SMS request does not consume the package of SMS messages included in the current tariff plan. The conditions apply to all Tele2 tariffs both in the home region and when traveling around the country. But the service will not be available in international roaming.

What about calls from 900 number?

Recently, many Sberbank clients have written that they have actually started receiving calls from the 900 number.

Such calls raise little doubt, because this is the official number of Sberbank. But in fact, Sberbank uses this number only to send SMS messages.

If you search the Internet and on various forums, you can find many stories about people getting into unpleasant situations when answering a call from a 900 number.

The Sberbank press service has repeatedly stated that their employees do not make calls from the 900 number. It turns out that this number is used by scammers to get in touch with a bank client. A call from a regular number will always be suspicious. And lately, fewer and fewer people are falling for scammers.

legislation

Is there any basis for such claims, strictly speaking? After all, at some point the user voluntarily performed some action that ensured his place as a victim in the chain (relative to the short number 0900). This is precisely the position that telecom operators adhere to when a subscriber, outraged by the loss of money, begins to search for the truth.

The answer is yes, there is

And this is called the federal law of July 23, 2013 N 229-FZ “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On Communications”.

In it, Article 2 of the Basic Law is supplemented with subclause 34.1, which defines what “content services” are.

The legislator made this definition as general as possible, practically fitting into it everything that is not the actual connection. Those. if the user using the phone and through the telecom operator’s channels receives, quote,

...reference, entertainment and (or) other additionally paid information...", gets the opportunity "... to participate in voting, games, competitions and similar events...,

Then he, the user, receives a content service. And it, in turn, being provided with the participation of third parties, falls under the addition of paragraph 5 of Article 44 of the Federal Law “On Communications”, which prescribes a mechanism for protecting the consumer by:

  • firstly, the possibility of creating, at his request, a separate account to pay only for content services;
  • secondly, the requirement to obtain explicit consent to receive such services;
  • thirdly, about comprehensive information, including prices and names of suppliers, about these services before obtaining consent.

Another addition, established by 229-FZ, to paragraph 5 of Article 54 of the Basic Law, states that services provided in violation of any of the above are not subject to payment. And finally, Article 68 of the main communications law is supplemented by paragraph 8, which directly indicates the operator’s responsibility for the implementation of Article 44 (see above).

Let’s summarize the legislative information, projecting the rights and responsibilities spelled out in it onto the practical side of life.

If the user consciously wants to become a consumer of content services, then you can secure your account for paying for communications by declaring your intention to open a separate content account to cover the costs of mobile subscriptions and SMS from short numbers. If it is exhausted, funds intended for regular conversations and SMS will not be affected.

For telecom operators Beeline and TELE2, this action is automated and is carried out by sending a USSD request, *110*5062# and *160#, respectively. Sets of commands are also provided for replenishment and checking the balance.

Megafon and MTS require a personal appearance at the office and presentation of a passport, and one must understand that regardless of the method of expression of will, the very fact of opening an account confirms voluntary consent to receive content services, and strictly speaking makes it unnecessary to inform about the details (in including price) of the same mobile subscription.

Paying for a phone from a Sberbank card via USSD request

The subscriber can instantly top up his balance using the service command: *900*800#

To transfer an amount to another phone using a USSD request, enter the command:

And press call. To complete the transfer, an SMS with a five-digit code will be sent to the payment initiator’s phone. It should be sent to number 900 and wait for the operation to complete. Before sending, you must carefully check the transfer details.

  • 800 – top-up amount in rubles.
  • xxxxxxxxx – nine-digit phone number of the recipient;
  • 800 – transfer amount in rubles.
  • minimum payment – ​​50 rubles;
  • the maximum volume of payments is 3 thousand rubles per day.
  • The maximum amount of payments is 1500 rubles. per day;
  • transfers – 10 per day.
  • at the nearest branch of Sberbank;
  • independently at terminals and ATMs;
  • in the Sberbank Online banking application for iOS and Android (with limited functionality).

You can protect your funds if you pre-set a ban on replenishing phone accounts that are not in the list of templates. This will help prevent possible theft of money if your phone is lost or stolen.

Convenience from Sberbank

Short commands allow the client to perform various operations without logging into his personal account . To quickly use the financial product, special services and mini-teams have been developed. In practice, there is a difference between USSD and SMS commands. In fact, the functionality is no different in the presented types. But number 900 allows the operator to receive additional remuneration in accordance with the tariff schedule.

Moreover, these procedures require different methods for sending information. If this is the first type, then it involves receiving instant information from a banking institution. If this is the second method, then the messages are initially sent to a specialized service, and then only to the credit institution. Then only the lender sends the necessary information to the client. This service is more convenient if a person wants to make transactions without a card, but with a contact phone number.

Among the positive aspects, experts highlight:

  • speed of operation. The banking institution will not require much time to send the information. If it is an SMS, then it is the cellular operator that is slowing down the system;
  • practicality. To receive information, just send a text with the corresponding message to a short number;
  • accessibility of the service from anywhere in the world, since to obtain information it is enough to have a contact phone number.

What are the conditions?

This method is very simple and suitable for any user; to carry out a transaction without extra commissions, you only need to send SMS messages to the simple number 900. Before doing this, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the existing restrictions and nuances established by the partner bank:

  • The main requirement is that the service is suitable only for owners of bank cards from Sberbank. It must be functioning and have funds in the account.
  • You must activate the “Mobile Bank” option; without this you cannot top up your mobile phone. You can activate on the bank’s official website, as well as using any subscriber support branch or ATM.
  • The size of one payment is limited to 3 thousand rubles. When transferring money to other subscribers, you can only send 1.5 thousand.
  • There is no commission for any transactions; the option is provided to subscribers free of charge.

Is it possible to disable income from traffic to bank numbers?

We specifically contacted support in order to understand whether there were any workarounds for such write-offs. Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to bypass the paid sending to “900”. Accordingly, it is also impossible to disable this item.

We also note that in this case, they do not work, which are available on some Megafon tariffs - the write-off will still be charged separately.

An alternative is to switch from SMS to USSD commands, which (for now) are still free. Another option is to connect mobile banking, this has been expected of you for a long time.

Help Desk

Recently, Sberbank has stopped maintaining a hotline at 8-800-555-55-50. Currently, the company’s current and future clients are consulted via the short number 900.

Almost everyone has a mobile phone, and it is very convenient to make calls from them. It is free and available to subscribers of MTS, Beeline, Megafon, Tele2, Yota and Motiv. If you have a different operator, check the possibility of making a call and communication rates.

If you are calling from a landline or you are abroad, you will need to use a different number. It is paid, the tariffs depend on your telecom operator.

How to get a consultation remotely and for free? This can be done using a call from the Sberbank Online application, which is available only to existing bank clients. We talk about connection here. There is no charge when connecting to Wi-Fi; via mobile Internet, payment will again depend on the prices of your operator.

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Question-answer section:

2019-11-09 12:46

Ishchenko

When I paid the receipt, the amount came out old, without paying attention, I paid instead of 305 rubles, I was charged 5120 rubles. What should I do now, how to get the money back?

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Answered by Elena Sharomova, expert on credit and financial products

Yulia, you need to contact Sberbank and write an application for a refund. It is usually reviewed for 10-14 days, then the bank’s decision is sent via SMS

2016-10-22 22:04

Nikolai

I withdrew an amount of money from the SABADELL ATM, I received an SMS from service 900 as if I had withdrawn this amount three times, at first the operation was canceled twice.

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Answered by Elena Sharomova, expert on credit and financial products

Nikolay, without knowing you and at least some of your account details, we cannot advise you. Contact a Sberbank branch or call the hotline to find out the status of your account

2019-02-24 06:43

Eugene

Is it possible to find out a more complete statement based on certain characteristics in the 900 service?

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Answered by Elena Sharomova, expert on credit and financial products

Evgeniy, no, an extended statement can only be ordered through your Personal Account in Sberbank. Online, more details here https://kreditq.ru/sberbank-onlajn-vypiska-po-schetu-kak-zakazat/

2019-02-08 11:47

Alexander Nikolaevich

Hello, what if I lose my phone or it is stolen from me, can attackers use the 900 command to steal all my money?

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Answered by Elena Sharomova, expert on credit and financial products

Alexander, they will indeed be able to transfer your funds to another account. But if you discover your phone is missing, you can immediately block your card at Sberbank, and you won’t be able to withdraw money from it

2019-01-19 13:03

Natalia

Why am I being charged money from different cards for using mobile banking for the same period: January 15, 2021 and January 18, 2021

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Answered by Elena Sharomova, expert on credit and financial products

Natalia, you should ask this question to the employees at the bank branch where you are served; be sure to take your passport with you in order to find your accounts in the system

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10/09/2014 Information about the authors | Category: Money transfers | Sberbank

We pay the bill on someone else's mobile phone using the 900 number

In addition to yourself, you have the opportunity to provide for the availability of money from other mobile users. This is accessible in a similar way. However, the algorithm for carrying out this procedure will be slightly different. In this situation, in the text of SMS messages you need to indicate in detail the contact information of the recipient. To send an amount to another mobile number, you must do the following:

Send an SMS message with a text in the format “TEL 9828883344 200”. First you need to enter a command that serves as a kind of identifier for the operator system; this is necessary so that the command is not regarded as an ordinary SMS message. Next, you enter the subscriber number and the amount in rubles to send. In fact, it is not necessary to enter the “TEL” code; the transaction will go through without it, but the spaces need to be preserved.

If you have several cards linked to your mobile balance, you can transfer money from any of the cards. To do this, you need to enter a combination in a message in the format “TEL 9828883344 200 NNNN”, where “NNNN” will be the last four digits on the consumer card. Please enter your mobile number in ten characters.

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