The SBOL and Invstr applications have appeared in the AppStore. Their design matches Sberbank's mobile applications for iPhones Sberbank Online and SberInvestor, which were removed in April due to US sanctions.
The bank's press service in a commentary to RBC recommended customers to use SBOL. Whether Sberbank has anything to do with it, they didn't say.
The description of the application in the AppStore and on its website says that it helps to «view the current balance», exchange rates, search for branches and ATMs. It does not say which banks they work with.
When registering, the application asks to enter the card number. If the card is issued by any credit institution other than Sberbank, the application offers to go to its online bank, Forbes notes. At the same time, Raiffeisenbank is mentioned on the preview of the card with branches on the application website.
Screenshot of the SBOL AppStore page
In May, SOTA published a slide supposedly taken from the presentation Sber about creating a new mobile application. It featured the title, logo, and start page that the new app is currently using. The bank then called the message «fake».
Both applications were released by LLC Open IT-Solutions. On the SBOL website, in the user agreement, the company Open IT Solutions LLC is indicated. According to the register of legal entities, a week before the war in Ukraine, on February 18, 2022, it was opened by Oleksiy Kruglov. As the address is the office in the Moscow business center «Barclay Park».
The same name is the vice president of Sberbank, responsible for the operation of mobile applications. The last time the bank's press service mentioned Kruglov was in April.