ellipsbank.ru is the website of the Nizhny Novgorod commercial bank "Ellips Bank" (Эллипс банк). The earliest surviving snapshot of the home page is dated 10 November 2000[1], and the latest version we examined is from 13 October 2012[4]. The bank's head office was located in Nizhny Novgorod at 4/2 Maxim Gorky Square, telephone (8312) 34-20-28[2]. The bank dated its history from 1992: on 7 July 2006 the home page announced that "the independent Nizhny Novgorod Ellips Bank turns 14"[2], and on 24 July 2012 that "Ellips Bank is 20 years old"[4]. In the Counter.nn.ru directory and rating, the site was listed under the "Firms" section.

"Ellips Bank Online": the 2000 version

In 2000 the site was called "Ellips Bank Online." The menu had twelve items, including "Open an Account," "Internet Banking," "Internet Trading," "For Internet Stores," "Plastic Cards," "Bank Promissory Notes," and "Exchange Rates"[1]. According to the home page, a client could "come to the bank in person or manage their account over the Internet," and telephone banking would be available "shortly"[1].

Right on the front page was a login form for the "Telebank-NN" system, with fields for a username and password. The updated version of the system allowed customers to file applications for transfers, currency purchase, sale, and conversion, to send documents with a digital signature, and to save a statement as a file for the client's own accounting software[1]. A separate news item covered the decision of the general meeting of participants on 29 June 2000 to convert Ellips Bank LLC into an open joint-stock company[1]. Among the page's service keywords, alongside banking terms, were "nizhny novgorod" and "gorky"[1].

"Bank of New Technologies": mid-2000s

By October 2006 the site had the title "Ellips Bank: Bank of New Technologies," an English-language version, a search function, and four major sections: "Internet Banking," "Services and Rates," "Reference Information," and "About the Bank"[2]. The news column reported an authorized capital of 254,540,000 rubles (12 August 2006) and the opening in Nizhny Novgorod of the bank's seventh additional branch (7 August 2006)[2]. At the bottom of the page all branches were listed with phone numbers: on Bolshaya Pechyorskaya, Geroya Smirnova, Nartova, Kominterna, Piskunova, and Karla Marksa streets, as well as in Dzerzhinsk on Tsiolkovskogo Prospekt[2].

Electronic money occupied a prominent place: the page announced that "Yandex.Money accepts payments through Ellips Bank," offered top-ups of an "electronic wallet" via WebMoney, PayCash scratch cards, and a "24-hour online payments" service for plastic card holders[2]. Alongside these were a visitor poll on what matters most when choosing a bank — reputation, rates, or geographic proximity — a newsletter subscription, a glossary of terms, and an article archive with titles such as "Ellips Bank — a Nizhny Novgorod Bank for Nizhny Novgorod Residents!" and "A Regional Bank — for the Region"[2].

The 2012 portal

Snapshots from May and October 2012 show a large corporate portal by then. The header displayed the Bank of Russia's general license No. 1950, three language versions (Russian, English, and Italian), and a city switcher: besides Nizhny Novgorod, about a dozen and a half towns and settlements of the region (Arzamas, Balakhna, Bor, Vyksa, Gorodets, Dzerzhinsk, Kstovo, Pavlovo, Sergach, Shatki, and others), as well as Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Ufa, and Cheboksary[4]. The unified help desk number was given as (+7 831) 230-20-02, and the head office address remained unchanged: 603000, Nizhny Novgorod, M. Gorky Square, 4/2, telephones (+7 831) 434-20-28 and 434-18-17 (fax)[3].

By this time online banking had split into three systems: "Ellips-Mobile" for individuals, "Ellips-Online" for legal entities, and "Telebank-NN," which was still operating[3]. The home page published currency exchange rates, gold quotes, and prices for investment coins, and offered a PDF magazine, "Vashi Dengi. Bank" ("Your Money. Bank"), which came out every two months[4]. The showcase of special offers featured collectible coins, a virtual "BIT card" for utility payments, and the "Multicurrency" and "Seasons" deposits at 10.5% per annum[3]. The site declared the bank a winner of the "Banking Business" award in 2011 and 2012 in the "Best Regional Bank" category, and reported that on 28 August 2012 its authorized capital exceeded one billion rubles[3][4].

Place in the Nizhny Novgorod Internet and the domain's fate

In the counter.nn.ru directory the site was described as "Online account opening. Internet banking. Services and rates for individual and corporate clients" and belonged to the "Firms" section; according to the Archival study of the Nizhny Novgorod internet from the counter.nn.ru rating, its score for 2000 was 240. No record survives in our census of the site taking part in the Nizhny Novgorod Internet Day vote. In the history of the Nizhny Novgorod Internet, ellipsbank.ru is notable above all for having a working service on its home page as early as 2000, rather than a mere company calling card — a login form for the bank's system[1].

The archived snapshots do not show exactly how the site was closed down. A snapshot from 22 May 2024 shows a page from the registrar REG.RU with the heading "The registration period for the domain ellipsbank.ru has expired," offering to renew, intercept, or find a similar domain name[5]. There is no longer an active site at this address.

Sources

  1. web.archive.org — Home page, 2000 (archive)
  2. web.archive.org — Home page, 2006 (archive)
  3. web.archive.org — Home page, May 2012 (archive)
  4. web.archive.org — Home page, October 2012 (archive)
  5. web.archive.org — Domain page, 2024 (archive)