OREANDA-NEWS  By the end of May 2025, the total number of credit cards issued to Russians decreased by 60 percent compared to the same period in 2024 and dropped to just over a million units. This is reported by the newspaper Izvestia, citing data from the United Credit Bureau (OKB).

During the reporting period, the limits on such banking products were significantly reduced, the analysts noted. In the last month of spring, their total volume has halved to 128 billion rubles. During this time, Russians were given credit cards with a maximum debt of 127 thousand rubles, the experts concluded.

The decline in the number of approved credit cards in Russia has been observed for several months, a similar trend has been recorded in the domestic market since the beginning of this year. So, according to the results of January-May, domestic banks gave citizens half as much "plastic" as a year earlier.

This kind of dynamics is influenced by a number of factors, including the high key rate of the Central Bank (CB), which has long held at a record high of 21 percent per annum, as well as increased regulation of loans due to stricter requirements for potential borrowers. In addition, the profits of banks, which largely depend on customer loan payments, have recently fallen markedly amid the growth of financial literacy among the population. A significant part of citizens prefer to spend money from credit cards only during the grace period, when no interest is charged on purchases.

Following the results of the June meeting, the Board of Directors of the Central Bank lowered the key rate for the first time in almost three years. The indicator decreased by 100 basis points, to 20 percent. Despite this, experts agree that the availability of loans in the Russian market will remain low for a long time against the background of "extra-high" market rates. A full-fledged credit renaissance in the country is still far away, the VTB representative concluded.