Boris Samohvalov, Sales Director Yettel Bank: The Future of Banking? It’s already here.

On what they sell when they "hide nothing" and what the future of banking looks like, we are talking to Boris Samohvalov, sales director of Yettel Bank.

- I’ve been in sales for over a decade, and I know exactly how hard it is when things just don’t move - like trying to push a car uphill in the rain with the handbrake on. I don’t want

to sound immodest, but our situation is completely different: we have products that practically sell themselves. Because we removed everything people dislike about banking. The entire philosophy behind Yettel Bank is that there are no fine print tricks, no hidden fees, and no profit at the customer’s expense. With this mindset, I believe our 320,000 active customers are only the beginning. We’re not selling a bank - we’re offering real solutions to real needs, saving people their two most valuable resources: time and money.

And beyond all that, I believe the key role is played by our dedicated sales specialists and agents who are in daily contact with customers and carry our mission forward - we don’t want to sell at any cost: we want genuine customer satisfaction. The best proof that this is true is that I have yet to meet a customer who tried our bank and said, “It’s good, but it’s not for me”.

Our mobile app has a 4.8 rating - and that number matters. It proves that the app isn’t an add-on to the bank, it is the bank. It provides all the features customer need for everyday banking, shortening the distance between intention and execution. I don’t want to sound too salesy, so I won’t list everything it offers - I’ll highlight just a few innovations: second-generation Liveness video identification and our instant cards. That is the future of banking - secure, instant, without waiting, without delays, without wasting time or patience. This vision is what brought me to the bank in the first place, as a customer. At the start, I was impressed by the pioneering approach to digital banking and today, that approach is raising my personal expectations not only for banking, but for all industries in the future.

There is no balance and no compromise. Every innovation must be rooted in customer satisfaction. If it doesn’t start there, it's just an expensive gadget. Bank MAX account is the best example of this. Our 174,000 customers rely on it because it was designed around their needs, not industry norms. We asked them what bothers them, and the answer was clear: fees. So we created an account with no maintenance fees, no ATM withdrawal fees anywhere, no transfer fees - and all they need to do is transfer part of their income or spend at least 30,000 dinars on their card.

And this isn’t just my narrative - our latest achievement proves it: the silver award at the ICXA competition in London for “Best Innovation in CX”. It confirms that the market sees what we see: customer is the center, everything else is decoration.

Naturally, further development of the program is planned, and it will certainly bring new benefits. When I explain the program to friends, I always use this analogy - imagine you want a nice cappuccino. In one café they only have coffee, in another only milk, and in a third only sugar. You don’t want to go from café to café collecting parts, you just want your drink. It’s the same with telecom and banking services you want everything in one place.

This year has proven that we’re ready for big things through organic growth. Our goal is simple - to become the first choice of customers. The number of salary receivers, savings accounts and active loans shows we’re on the right path. Since our rebranding, we’ve reached over half a million loan accounts. That’s a sign of trust, a sign that we can. In 2026, we plan to show we can even more, and we’re entering the year ready to make something extraordinary.

I’m genuinely excited by every new comment from our customers, because together with our amazing team of dedicated experts, we’re building a bank people will truly love.