16.02.2026, 13:42
Credit card issuance in Russia has dropped to a minimum
Source: OREANDA-NEWS
OREANDA-NEWS By the end of January 2026, the total volume of credit card issuance in Russia fell to its lowest level since March 2022 and amounted to about 100 billion rubles. This is reported by Kommersant with reference to data from the United Credit Bureau (OKB).
Along with the total volume, the number of credit cards issued has noticeably decreased, experts said. So, at the beginning of the year, the number of approved cards decreased to a minimum since January 2021 and amounted to slightly less than 970 thousand units. The average amount of credit cards issued also dropped by about 9 thousand rubles, to 103 thousand.
Analysts call this dynamic traditional for the beginning of the year. During the long New Year holidays, the population's demand for loans usually decreases. At this time, bank branches are closed, and people are resting, said Sergey Khodinsky, OTP-bank's director of credit card development.
The situation with the issuance of credit cards was also influenced by the tightening of regulation by the Central Bank (CB), added Gennady Shinin, head of the department for work with financial institutions of the B1 Group. Against this background, financial institutions began to take a more thorough approach to analyzing loan applications, and the rejection rate for them began to grow, said Egor Lopatin, Director of the Financial Institutions Ratings Group at the NKR Agency. "Fewer and fewer borrowers meet the requirements of banks in terms of debt burden," he concluded.
The Central Bank's tight monetary policy should not be discounted, experts say. In February, the regulator's board of directors lowered the key rate to 15.5 percent per annum. Market rates on loans (including credit cards) are at a much higher level, which makes loans unaffordable for a significant part of the population. In the current reality, analysts do not expect a significant increase in the issuance of credit cards in 2026, volumes may stabilize at the current level or even decrease.
Along with the total volume, the number of credit cards issued has noticeably decreased, experts said. So, at the beginning of the year, the number of approved cards decreased to a minimum since January 2021 and amounted to slightly less than 970 thousand units. The average amount of credit cards issued also dropped by about 9 thousand rubles, to 103 thousand.
Analysts call this dynamic traditional for the beginning of the year. During the long New Year holidays, the population's demand for loans usually decreases. At this time, bank branches are closed, and people are resting, said Sergey Khodinsky, OTP-bank's director of credit card development.
The situation with the issuance of credit cards was also influenced by the tightening of regulation by the Central Bank (CB), added Gennady Shinin, head of the department for work with financial institutions of the B1 Group. Against this background, financial institutions began to take a more thorough approach to analyzing loan applications, and the rejection rate for them began to grow, said Egor Lopatin, Director of the Financial Institutions Ratings Group at the NKR Agency. "Fewer and fewer borrowers meet the requirements of banks in terms of debt burden," he concluded.
The Central Bank's tight monetary policy should not be discounted, experts say. In February, the regulator's board of directors lowered the key rate to 15.5 percent per annum. Market rates on loans (including credit cards) are at a much higher level, which makes loans unaffordable for a significant part of the population. In the current reality, analysts do not expect a significant increase in the issuance of credit cards in 2026, volumes may stabilize at the current level or even decrease.
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