MOSCOW, Russia - MTS (NYSE: MBT, MOEX: MTSS), Russia's largest mobile operator and a leading provider of media and digital services, announces an agreement to invest RUB 125 m in the developer of CoinKeeper, Russia's most popular personal finance app. The investment - which marks the first outlay by the MTS Venture Fund - is to be structured in multiple tranches, with the fund receiving a minority stake in the startup.

With over 350,000 monthly active users, CoinKeeper is Russia's leading digital standalone service for personal finance management. The platform helps users analyze spending patterns, forecast future expenses, and optimize monthly budgets toward achieving longer-term financial goals. CoinKeeper is accessible through both app- and web-based interfaces and features a variety of methods to enter data, including by directing importing card transaction history from many leading Russian banks.

In August, CoinKeeper was selected to launch a pilot project through the MTS Startup Hub accelerator. The new investment agreement is aimed at further enabling the company's efforts in marketing and product development, as well as expansion into European markets.

Islam Midov, MTS Venture Fund Manager, commented: 'This deal is both an attractive investment for our venture fund, as well as a natural fit for MTS in light of our digital ecosystem strategy. CoinKeeper has a well-thought-out business model, a loyal customer base, and a leading position among independent personal finance services. This investment reaffirms our confidence in their long-term potential.'

'Personal finance management is a focus area within MTS's broader fintech strategy. In today's fast-paced, tech-driven world, consumers are bombarded with data from a dizzying array of sources. That can make it hard to get a clear picture of overall personal spending, saving, and investing. CoinKeeper is a powerful tool that can help users tackle that challenge,' said Sergey Smirnov, Director of Fintech Development at MTS, adding that 'in the near future, new Russian regulations are expected that will lay out a roadmap toward open API standards, which would further support comprehensive personal finance solutions.'

CoinKeeper Co-Founder Ilya Chernetsky commented: 'We regard this round of financing from MTS's venture fund as smart money. This investment can help us further develop our services, add new functionality, and move into the European market.'

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For further information, please contact in Moscow:

Investor Relations Department
Mobile TeleSystems PJSC
Tel: +7 495 223 2025
E-mail: ir@mts.ru
Learn more about MTS. Visit the official blog of the Investor Relations Department at www.ir.mts.ru/ir-blog

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Mobile TeleSystems PJSC ('MTS' - NYSE:MBT; MOEX:MTSS), the leading telecommunications group in Russia and the CIS, provides a range of mobile, fixed-line and digital services. We serve over 100 million mobile subscribers in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, and Belarus, and about 9 million customers of fixed-line services, including fixed voice, broadband internet, and pay-TV. To keep pace with evolving customer demand, MTS is redefining what telecommunications services are by offering innovative products beyond its core network-related businesses in various tech segments, including Big Data, financial and banking services, internet of things, OTT, cloud computing, systems integration and e-commerce. We leverage our market-leading retail network as a platform for customer services and sales of devices and accessories. MTS maintains its leadership in the Russian mobile market in terms of revenue and profitability. MTS is majority-owned by Sistema PJSFC. Since 2000, MTS shares have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange and since 2003 - on the Moscow Exchange. For more information, please visit: www.ir.mts.ru.

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MTS - Mobile TeleSystems OJSC published this content on 11 September 2020 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 11 September 2020 12:04:02 UTC