Veon bought out JV partner Alfa Bank to take outright ownership of Russian financial services provider National Service Company, business website VC.ru reported.

The transaction will mean Veon has complete control over online and mobile payment brand RuRu. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

National Service Company was founded by the partners in 2011. Its RuRu brand allows users to perform a range of financial services online or through handsets, including P2P payments, retail transactions, mobile top-up and paying for transport in parts of Russia.

It previously operated an iOS and Android mobile wallet application in partnership with Mastercard which allowed retail mobile payments, but this segment of the business was abandoned in 2017.

Payments can still be made through SMS for transferring funds from mobile phone accounts with Veon-owned Beeline, MTS or MegaFon.