The Russian-controlled high-risk payment processor Payeer has been on our radar since 2021. Since then, the operating companies behind the payment facilitator have changed several times. We have also discovered Payeer to be a facilitator of scams during this time. Currently, Payeer is one of the payment facilitators for the (interconnected) offshore broker schemes Pocket Option and PO Trade, alongside Advcash and Perfect Money. Here is our latest update.
The Payeer Timeline
The Payeer Timeline
Payeer has been in business for more than 10 years and, during that time, has used a wide variety of companies in different jurisdictions:
In 2012, Payeer Rus LLC was founded in Moscow by the Russian national Kosolapova Evgenia Nikolaevna. The company was liquidated in 2015.
In 2013, the Payeer website stated that Payeer Rus LLC (ООО “ПЭЙЕЕР РУС”) and PB24 Corp registered in Panama as the scheme operators.
In 2014, Akkord Welt LP was founded in Scotland, where Payeer LLC was registered as a partner. The Russian Elena Kulbikova was registered as the controlling person. This LP was dissolved in 2020.
2014, the website listed Payment Solutions Ltd in the British Virgin Islands as the operator. Mayzus Financial Services Ltd, registered in the UK and controlled by Russian Sergey Mayzus, was listed as the financial services partner.
In 2015, the website stated that Payeer LLC, registered in Georgia, Payeer LLC, registered in Russia, and Akkord Welt LP, registered in Scotland, would be the operators. The office in Tbilisi is indicated as the headquarters. There are also offices in Moscow and Aberdeen, Scotland.
In 2018, Runwill Sp. z o. o., registered in Poland, is given as the scheme operator.
In 2019, the new operator was Paycorp Limited in Vanuatu.
In 2020, Fincana OÜ was stated as a co-operator besides Paycorp Limited.
In 2021, Payeer obtained a crypto license through Payeer OÜ, registered in Estonia, and became the new co-operator besides Paycorp Limited. The license was voluntarily surrendered to avoid revocation by the FIU.
In 2023, Payeer UAB registered for a crypto license in Lithuania and became the scheme operator.
The Short Payeer Narrative
Payeer is already almost 12 years old and (as shown in the timeline above) has a long history of legal entities and individuals associated with the high-risk payment processor. Currently, Payeer is operated through Payeer UAB in Lithuania, which is registered as a crypto service provider. The director of the Lithuanian entity is the Russian Ekaterina Olegovna Gorshkova.
According to the latest Similarweb statistics, Payeer has the most website visitors from Russia. In the last 28 days before Feb 13, 2014, almost 33% of the approximately 3.6 million visitors came from Russia.
Payeer users seem to be happy. On Trustpilot, Payeer holds an impressive 4.8-star rating with a corresponding “Excellent” trust level from almost 3,400 reviews.
Facilitating Illegal Businesses
In our review on February 15, 2024, we found Payeer alongside the “other” Russian payment processors Advcash and Perfect Money in the huge offshore broker scheme. With more than 10 million monthly visitors, Pocket Option and PO Trade are among the biggest brokers.
They do not have regulatory permission to offer their financial services in Europe, the UK, or North America. Nevertheless, they attract customers and customer funds from these regulatory regimes and are supported by payment facilitators such as Payeer.