The Russian Ministry of Digital Development announced that the "big four" telecom operators — MTS, Beeline, MegaFon, and T2 — have reached an agreement with major banks on the terms of marking outgoing calls and have signed corresponding contracts. The ministry claims that all calls from these banks will be labeled in the near future. The specific list of banks was not disclosed in the ministry's report, although it was previously reported in the industry that Alfa-Bank, VTB, Sber, T-Bank, and several other credit institutions had not yet signed agreements with operators.

"Big Four" and banks reach an agreement

Reaching an agreement on labeling terms became the final stage of a prolonged standoff between telecom operators and major banks. Operators had previously stated that over 90% of companies in the banking market and "almost 100%" of representatives in other industries had already signed labeling contracts, while the largest banks were either avoiding signing or signing but not complying. According to industry reports, this is what led to the escalation and preparations to block calls.

Why call labeling is necessary

According to the regulator and operators, labeling should help subscribers "recognize calls and reduce the risk of deception by scammers posing as employees of credit and financial institutions." The operators' obligation to label calls from companies as part of the fight against fraud has been in effect since September 1, 2025. Thus, the signed contracts fulfill a requirement that formally came into force more than a year ago.

How much does labeling cost banks

For "big four" operators, the cost of labeling averages 30 kopecks per call. The fee is charged to the initiator of the call regardless of whether the subscriber answered or not. According to experts interviewed by the Kommersant newspaper, for a large bank, labeling expenses can reach one billion rubles per year. This calculation method was likely one of the contentious points during the negotiation of contracts with major credit organizations.

The threat of blocking calls

Before signing the contracts, operators warned that starting October 15, 2026, they would begin blocking calls from Russia's largest banks — Alfa-Bank, VTB, GPB, Renaissance Credit, Sber, Sovcombank, and T-Bank. This deadline was later moved to November 13, 2026. The signing of the contracts reported by the Ministry of Digital Development on November 14 effectively coincided with this deadline, indicating that the agreement was reached at the last moment, just before the block threats were set to take effect.

What this means for subscribers

For end users, the signing of contracts means that calls from major banks that previously appeared without identification should soon begin to be displayed with labels. This should reduce the number of successful fraudulent calls where scammers pose as bank employees. However, the full effect of the labeling will depend on how quickly banks actually start implementing the signed contracts, rather than just signing them.