Center-invest Bank has launched a special loan for self-employed individuals with an annual interest rate of 10.5%. The maximum loan term is five years, and the maximum amount for an unsecured loan is RUB1m.
In Russia, self-employed status is for individuals who have their own business, but do not have any employees. Their maximum professional earnings1 per calendar year must not exceed RUB2.4m.
To apply for the loan, individuals should complete the online application form on the bank’s website, indicating their self-employed status. The only documentation that the applicant requires is their Russian passport. Loan decisions will be given within three working days. No fees are charged under the loan agreement, and there is no requirement to provide security or a loan guarantee.
The borrower can choose the purpose of the loan: from purchasing new equipment or technology to creating a website and sales promotion. Center-invest Bank also offers its customers a whole range of other loan products.
“Center-invest Bank always supports entrepreneurs and offers them very advantageous opportunities for business development,” says Maria Khristolubova, deputy head of Center-invest Bank’s SME Division. “To launch a business, as well as having a good business idea, it is important to work out a business plan, and to assess your competitors and your competitive advantages. It was to help this process that we launched our Accelerator (acc.centrinvest.ru), where our experts provide free training for new entrepreneurs. Everyone who undergoes training through our Accelerator receives an additional loan discount of 0.25% per annum.”
Center-invest Bank also offers its self-employed customers a special card product based on the Mir national payment system. The cards are issued free of charge, with no annual card fees, and all card purchases earn 1% cashback. For ease of business, the cash withdrawal limit for ATMs has been increased, as has the limit for transfers using the Faster Payments System. Moreover, 2% interest is paid on balances.
Registering as self-employed raises the status of an entrepreneur, reduces administrative barriers and provides new opportunities for business growth. Individuals can register as self-employed using the government’s My Tax mobile app. Self-employed individuals do not have to submit tax declarations or acquire cash register technology, nor are they required to pay into pension and medical insurance funds. For work carried out with individuals, the tax rate for the self-employed is just 4%, and when they work with legal entities, it is 6%.
On 1 January 2019 a new experimental tax on professional earnings was introduced in four constituent entities of the Russian Federation: Moscow, the Moscow region, the Kaluga region and the Republic of Tatarstan. The other constituent entities gradually followed suit, and since August 2020, the tax on professional earnings has applied throughout Russia.
1 “Professional earnings” includes income from activities for which individuals do not have an employer nor do they have employees.