A quiet migration has begun in the microloan market. Microfinance organizations (MFOs) have begun to change their status to microcredit companies in order to postpone new biometrics requirements.
From March 1, 2026, microfinance companies will no longer be able to issue online loans without identity verification through the Unified Biometric System. The idea is to combat fraud. But in practice, the innovation is already hitting the market: many customers are simply not willing to submit their biometric data for the sake of a small loan.
The problem is that not everyone uses the system itself. In all of 2025, about 9 million people registered in it - this is clearly not enough for the country. As a result, some companies decided to take a detour and began to change their status to microcredit.
The biometrics requirements do not yet apply to microcredit companies - they will come into force only in 2027. There are currently 33 microfinance companies operating in Russia, and at least seven of them have already started the process of changing their status.
As a result, people who do not want to register in the biometric system have two options: go for a loan offline or contact an MCC. However, the conditions there are usually worse - rates are higher, terms are shorter, and the maximum amount is limited to approximately 500 thousand rubles.
