The departure of Visa and MasterCard from Russia generated a record number of bank cards issued in 10 years – Central Bank report

The number of issued bank cards in Russia in the first quarter of 2022 increased by 12 million to 341 million, according to the data of the statistical bulletin of the Central Bank. This is a record increase in the indicator since 2012: then in the fourth quarter it increased by 30.1 million rubles.

The increase in demand for „plastic” was confirmed by the NSPK. According to the results of the first quarter of this year, the number of national cards amounted to 125 million, which is 27.5% higher compared to the same period last year, the press service reported.

The largest banks also confirmed the trend. This trend is associated with the departure of Visa and MasterCard from the country, due to which customers began to actively draw up Mir, the press service of the MKB reported. They specified that in the first quarter of 2022, the number of cards issued by the bank increased by more than 2.5 times compared to the corresponding period last year. At Dom.RF Bank, the number of Mir cards issued this year has increased fivefold compared to the previous year, the credit institution said.

Visa and MasterCard continue to work within Russia, however, citizens are still reoriented to Mir, which is expanding the geography of use, said Nikolai Pereslavsky, an employee of the Economic and Financial Research Department of the CMS Institute. In his opinion, the growth in the number of card issuances may continue in the next two or three quarters.

The trend is associated with high demand for credit cards amid falling incomes of the population, as well as a sharp increase in interest in Mir and UnionPay, said Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance.

At the same time, under sanctions, the problem with a shortage of card chips may begin to appear in the second half of 2022, Igor Dodonov, an analyst at FG Finam, estimated.

Source: MIR – payment system