2.1 The current state of the Russian market of bank cards.

Further, the analysis of the current state of the market of bank plastic cards in Russia will be reflected. Its development was significantly influenced by the current geopolitical situation, since high inflation rates, falling real incomes of the population, increased credit risks and actions of the Bank of Russia led to a decrease in the volume of lending to individuals. As of May 1, 2015, its volume amounted to 10.8 trillion rubles, a decrease in comparison with the beginning of the year reached 4.42%. It should be noted that in the crisis year of 2009, the contraction of the loan portfolio was at the same level and stopped only in March 2010. The increase in the key interest rate to 17% on December 16, 2014 had a significant impact on the value of money, including an increase in interest on credit cards, which affected the demand for them.

Table 2.1.

Growth rates and structure of payment cards issued by credit institutions by types of cards, thousand pcs.

As you can see, the number of issued bank cards as a whole has grown over 3 years by 35.25% or 59,910 thousand pieces, but the growth rates are decreasing, if from 2012 to 2013 their number increased by 17.84% or by 30,313 thousand pieces. which is more than over the next years combined, then from 2014 to 2015 their number increased by only 4.84% or by 10,621 thousand pieces, which is almost 3 times less in the number of cards. If we talk about the structure, then the payment cards without overdraft account for 69.62% of all issued cards. Despite the fact that their share has been steadily declining since 2010, the situation has now changed. From 2012 to 2014, the decrease in the share of payment cards without overdraft decreased by 5.41%, however, from 2014 to 2015, their share increased again by 1.44%, and in the coming year, most likely, the situation will not improve, as the number of issued credit cards and payment cards decreases. cards with overdraft by banks. The number of cards of this type for 3 years has increased by 34,950 thousand pieces or by 27.94%. It is noteworthy that the growth rate for this type of cards not only did not decrease in 2015, as for the other two types of cards, but also increased by 0.87%.

As for credit cards, their number increased by 438 thousand over the year, but if you look at the dynamics by half-year, the market is falling and having reached its peak value on October 1, 2014 in the amount of 31 832 thousand cards, it began to decline. Prior to this, their number has been growing since July 2010. Over the 3 observed years, their share increased by 3.94%, but the trend changed in 2015, when the share decreased by 0.44%. A similar situation was observed during the financial crisis of 2009, when the number of credit cards decreased from 9,485 to 8,088 thousand units (down 17.2%). However, the bigger problem is that as of the beginning of May 2015, the number of credit cards with overdue debts increased from 1.7 million a year earlier to 2.9 million, which is 43% of all credit cards in use. In monetary terms, the volume of overdue card loans from the population more than doubled - from 90 billion to 195 billion rubles. Thus, the indicator reached 22.4% of the total volume of such loans.

Meanwhile, according to statistics from the Central Bank, the share of bad debts on cards does not exceed 10% of the total portfolio, and according to the National Bureau of Credit Histories, the figure is 6.4%. To date, the total volume of issued cards exceeds 30 million, while in reality only 6.7 million are used. The limits for these cards are open for 1.7 trillion rubles, and half as many have been chosen - 870 billion. That is, we can conclude that that today almost every second card has an overdue debt.

Both the borrowers and the banks themselves are to blame for this. Many borrowers, especially those with small limits of up to 30 thousand rubles, often use the card immediately, withdrawing the entire limit from the ATM immediately after receiving it. Since it is a cash loan, borrowers are unable to handle the payments. This is where the first problem of market development opens, associated with the low financial literacy of the population. As of April 1, 2015, the share of credit cards in Russia is only 13.27% of the total number of bank cards (9.77% in April 2012), while according to estimates of Retail Banking Research in Western Europe at the beginning of 2008 already the share of credit cards was over 52%. On the other hand, there is great potential for the development of the credit card market in Russia.

A large percentage of overdue credit card debt can also be explained by the fact that banks often distribute these cards in crowded places, issue them via the Internet and send them by mail to borrowers, about whom the bank has a minimum of information, which poses high risks of defaults. However, in the current situation, credit cards are the most risky banking product.

As a rule, customers use credit cards as a pay later tool, that is, they spend within a month, and pay after their salary, gradually starting to spend more and more and paying off not the full debt, but only the minimum payment. But the economic conditions in the country have changed quite quickly over the past year. Official inflation rose, but real prices grew at a faster pace. At the same time, there was a slowdown in the economy, as a result, jobs began to decline, which also affected the solvency of the loaned clients. As a result, non-payments increased in all segments, but, judging by the statistics, the main blow fell precisely on the virtually unlimited revolving card loans.

The deteriorating economic situation had a serious impact on payment cards with permitted overdrafts, where volatility in the number of issued cards has increased since January 2014. As of April 1, 2014, their number amounted to 39 344 thousand pieces (17.12% of the total number of issued cards), from 17.12%, however, this type of cards suffered the same fate as credit cards - the share for the previous year decreased by 0.99%, and over the year the number of cards not only did not increase, but decreased by 0.92%, when, as 2 years ago, the growth rate was 24.12%. Payment cards with overdraft are received, as a rule, by participants in salary projects. The banks lending to such an audience are in an advantageous position, their clients pay off the debt automatically, upon receipt of salary. Over time, a person begins to associate the credit limit available to him on his salary card with his own funds. Banks, considering such borrowers to be reliable, are constantly increasing the size of lending, bringing them to three or even five salaries. As a result, staff cuts or wage cuts hit hard and, therefore, a seemingly extremely reliable segment.

Today, the share of two categories of banks in the credit card segment is growing, these are the largest state-owned banks, which are developing due to their existing client base, including through salary projects, and high-quality private banks that develop complex card products - with a built-in loyalty program, a premium category cards developed by remote services.

There is a potential for growth in the segment; in the context of an unstable economic situation, customers are forced to revise their expenses in the direction of savings, to look for alternative and more profitable purchase financing instruments. POS loans for the borrower are significantly more expensive than using the credit limit of the cards.

In addition, in credit cards, a grace period is of particular value for the client, which allows you not to pay interest on using the limit and makes it possible to keep a credit card in your pocket just in case. There is no such option in a cash loan. And if a client needs a small loan amount for a short period, then a credit card in today's conditions is the best option. As for the policy of the banks themselves, many of them have already made reasonable conclusions and balanced their policy of mass issuance towards a more thorough assessment of the borrower and increased requirements for his solvency.

Now on credit bank cards, as well as on retail loans in general, the volume of new loans is decreasing. Loan officers and risk managers are actively developing new lending policies in line with the current economic situation. Working with valid credit cards is based on the quality of debt service by the borrower. Banks establish rules according to which, if the borrower does not pay the minimum payment, then his card is blocked and / or the credit limit is reset. Depending on the number of unpaid payments, the limit can be restored in full, in part, or the debtor's crediting will be completely suspended. Now, many banks, fearing non-payment on credit cards, in fact, issue cards only to well-established, verified customers, such as employees of corporate or salary partners, for whom it is possible to constantly see their cash flows.

Against the background of the decline in real income per capita, a more significant increase in delinquency could be expected. The main share of non-payments that could have occurred has already occurred and a further deterioration of the situation, although possible, will be insignificant. However, the activities of banks to reduce credit risk has an impact on the number of issued bank cards, and in the next year or two, one should expect that the shares of credit and debit cards with overdraft not only stagnate, but also decrease.

Now it's worth turning to the structure and volume of bank card transactions. For this, we will use the data in Table 2.2.

Summary

In 2016, the trend of contraction of the credit card market continued. According to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, at the end of 2016, the volume of issued bank cards increased by 4.5%, while the credit card portfolio decreased by 4%. In 2016, as in 2015, banks were cautiously issuing cards to new borrowers and raising rates. In turn, the Russians have reduced the demand for credit cards and overdraft cards. However, in 2017-2018. a trend reversal is possible - under the influence of the activation of a number of large players, the gradual recovery of consumer demand and the general stabilization of the situation. This is the conclusion reached by the experts of OTP Bank.

The volume of non-cash transactions and the demand for bank cards are growing in Russia. At the same time, the credit card market has stagnated since 2015. The key factor affecting the contraction of the credit card market is the economic instability that began at the end of 2014. Many banks have frozen this area, some have become more demanding of potential borrowers. The income of the country's residents has decreased, and they use less credit cards and other credit products. According to Rosstat, real incomes of the population in 2016 decreased by 5.9% compared to 2015.

The concentration on the credit card market is growing. At the end of 2015, the TOP-10 players in the market covered 79% of the market, and at the end of 2016 their total share increased to 82%.

The dynamics of the largest portfolios of credit cards, on average, follows the general market trend. In 2016, many banks' portfolios of cards have noticeably "thinned".

In 2017, a reversal of the trend is expected - there is a relative stabilization of the economic situation, the retail lending market as a whole is “unfrozen”. In 2016, prices rose by only 5.4%, which is the post-Soviet annual low. The slowdown in price growth continues at the beginning of 2017. According to Rosstat, at the end of 2016, the total number of unemployed decreased by 0.5% (a year earlier it increased by 7.4%). The decline in retail turnover has slowed down. The retail lending market grew by 1.7% last year after a 6.4% decline in 2015. Experts predict a revival in consumer demand this year. The Ministry of Economic Development is developing a new program of economic growth, according to which the growth of GDP of the Russian Federation in 2017 is predicted by 2%.

Banks, which have slightly slowed down portfolio growth, are beginning to activate, promote credit cards, and offer new products. According to the estimates of the Institute for Development of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, the growth rate of retail lending may exceed 7% in 2017. At the same time, credit cards may become one of the drivers of market growth, and higher growth is expected in this segment (10-15%).

Plastic is in fashion

According to statistics from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, at the end of 2016, the volume of cards issued by Russian banks increased by 4.5%: the number of valid plastic cards issued by Russian credit institutions approached 255 million (254.8 million cards). Thus, there are approximately 1.7 bank cards for every inhabitant of the country today.

The use of bank cards in the country is growing - Russians are increasingly using them for everyday payments and purchases. The demand for cards as a non-cash payment instrument is evidenced by the high growth rates of non-cash card transactions, which have been maintained for several years. For comparison: in 2009, out of 100 payments made by citizens and legal entities, only 21 were made using bank cards, in 2016 this figure was 71 (increased by 3.4 times). In the total volume of trade, the share of payment by cards for goods and services increased from 3.5% in 2009 to 30.5% in 2016.

According to statistics from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, in 2016, in Russia and abroad, Russians conducted 17.9 billion card transactions worth 51.2 trillion rubles. This indicator increased compared to 2015 by 36.2 and 23.4%, respectively. On average, one resident of the country performed more than 120 transactions for 349.7 thousand rubles per year, and in 2015 these figures were significantly lower and amounted to 90 transactions for 283.8 thousand rubles.

Fall of the credit card market

Such a positive trend for non-cash payments in the last two years has not been reflected in parallel on the credit card market. In 2015-2016. there is a downward trend in the use of credit cards. So, until 2014, inclusive, the number of credit cards grew steadily, in 2015 it decreased by 7%, and if we take the cumulative result for credit cards and cards with overdraft, then by 6%.

The key factor affecting the contraction of the credit card market is the economic instability that began at the end of 2014. The incomes of Russians fell, unemployment began to rise, and after that the ability of borrowers to service loans decreased.

This, in turn, led to an increase in delinquencies, and credit cards (as well as unsecured loans) became one of the first "shock" credit segments in this regard. Banks, in turn, became cautious in issuing new cards, confirming and expanding limits, rates increased noticeably (see data on the dynamics of rates on credit cards, Table 2). When renewing credit cards for a new term, banks also raised rates. Some lending institutions even froze this direction.

The next logical trend was that the Russians gradually reduced their appetites for borrowed resources during the indicated period, began to postpone purchases and strive to live “within their means”. According to Rosstat, real incomes of the population in 2016 decreased by 5.9% compared to 2015.

Plus, the concentration in the credit card segment is quite high: 2/3 of the market volume falls on the Top 5 players (73% according to Frank RG). A decrease in the activity of even one bank in the market will affect the overall result, and many have chosen a more cautious strategy.

In 2016, the 2015 trend towards a decrease in the number of credit cards continued: the total number of credit cards and overdraft cards decreased by 4%. However, the number of newly issued credit cards increased by 2% (Table 1).

Table 1. Dynamics of the issue of credit cards and cards with overdraft

Source: Central Bank of the Russian Federation, OTP Bank calculations

Chart 1. Dynamics of the issue of credit cards and cards with overdraft

Market development forecast

At the beginning of 2017, the economy is showing relative stabilization.

In 2016, prices rose by only 5.4%, which is the post-Soviet annual low. The slowdown in prices continues at the beginning of 2017. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation is pursuing a rather tight monetary policy to consolidate the downward trend in inflation for a long time.

According to Rosstat, unemployment remains low (5.3%, or 4.2 million people, in December). At the end of 2016, the total number of unemployed decreased by 0.5% (a year earlier it increased by 7.4%).

In 2016, retail trade turnover continued to decline - by 5.2% to RUB 28.1 trillion. But the decline has slowed: last year, retail sales were down 10% compared to 2014. Experts predict a revival in consumer demand this year. It is also expected that the dynamics of real income is likely to reverse and enter a growing trend as early as mid-2017. The industrial production index, which decreased by 3.4% in 2015, grew by 1.1% in 2016.

The Ministry of Economic Development is developing a new program of economic growth, according to which the growth of GDP of the Russian Federation in 2017 is predicted by 2%.

In light of positive economic trends on the market, retail lending also began to “unfreeze”: activity is growing in all segments of retail lending. Banks are developing co-branded programs with retail chains, developing online services, supplementing the functionality of credit cards, and introducing new products to the market.

On the one hand, the Russian banking system has passed the peak of loan delinquencies, and problem debts are stabilizing. Banks may create fewer loan provisions and generally be more aggressive in lending. According to the estimates of the Institute for Development Center, NRU HSE, the growth rate of retail lending may exceed 7% in 2017. At the same time, credit cards can become one of the market growth drivers, and higher growth is expected in this segment (10-15%).

Alexey Shavelev, Director of the Cross Sales Department of OTP Bank:

“In 2016, OTP Bank was engaged in the rehabilitation of the credit card portfolio in the event of new negative cycles in the economy and preparation for the subsequent increase in loans. Much attention was paid to improving the processes of issuing and approving limits for new customers, as well as finding the optimal set of products and the best tariff composition. The bank's attention was focused on the process of early response to the deterioration of the payment discipline of clients and a timely response to this by reducing or blocking limits.

Separate efforts were devoted to working with current customers: the process of regularly increasing the limits for the best customers of the bank was resumed, the process of reissuing expired cards was changed, processes were developed and implemented to retain leaving or stimulate customers that slow down their activity. As a result, 2016 was the most efficient year on record in terms of income per card in a work portfolio. In 2017, we have a difficult task: without losing the achieved efficiency, move on to portfolio growth. We want to achieve this, among other things, by expanding the sales channels for credit cards. For example, while our POS network is not yet fully involved in the sale of credit cards, not all products, successful and tested last year, have been transferred to the classic branch network for sale. Co-branding cards as a direction only started to develop in our bank last year. For example, we have a Molniya card - a joint product with Svyaznoy. In 2017, it is planned to expand activity in this direction, including the launch of cards with new partners. "

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In the context of the introduction of economic sanctions by the United States and the European Union, the country faced certain problems not only in political terms, but in the economic sphere, in particular, in the implementation of banking activities. Certain banks were deprived of the opportunity to enter the debt markets of the USA and Europe, other private banks were banned from making foreign exchange payments in favor of or on behalf of these banks / companies, the de facto control over international payments of Russian banks and companies by Western counterparties was transferred to manual control. In addition, payment systems Visa and MasterCard stopped servicing cards issued by Russia and SMP Bank after the imposition of US sanctions against them. This is justified by the fact that both payment systems of plastic cards are American and obey the orders of the US authorities. At the same time, Russian users pay about 120 billion rubles to American payment systems. per year for the use of their payment cards and they have access to all information about banks and their customers. That is why the creation of a national payment system serving its own cards is urgent.

In the economic literature, the term "plastic card" is used more often than "payment card". At the same time, a plastic card is defined as a universal payment instrument, which is the key of access to bank account management and allows its owner to pay for goods and services in various trade and service enterprises that accept cards, receive cash, use other additional services and certain benefits. From this definition, a card can be largely called a payment card, based on the following characteristics: a payment instrument, access to bank account management, the ability to make payments and other operations. The listed features of the card are functional.

Plastic cards got their name from the material from which they are made. They are designed to carry out the same operations as a payment card.

Recently, the scientific literature began to distinguish "co-branding" and "co-branding" cards.

In the context of the development of world economic relations, there is a process of integration of the economies of individual states and the development of payment systems, in particular, in the direction of the development of non-cash forms of payments, which, in turn, are widely used in the modern world. One of the tools for non-cash payments is a plastic card. In most economically developed countries, a plastic card is an integral part of trade and services. Conducting transactions using payment cards shows the degree of integration of the banking system and society. Suffice it to say that non-cash payment for goods and services in industrialized countries reaches 90% in the structure of all monetary transactions.

Economists call the plastic card “the service of the century”, one of the key elements of the “technological revolution in banking”. Therefore, the study of the problems of using plastic cards in Russia seems to be especially relevant, and the study of world practice and the prospects for the development of the market of plastic cards in Russia is now of particular importance.

The scale and nature of the use of payment cards are reasonably considered as one of the most important indicators of the level of development of the retail banking business. A plastic card is a reusable payment and credit instrument of durable use that has the highest level of protection against counterfeiting today and also contains identification information about the cardholder, which allows checking his solvency. Currently, the plastic business is more than 1.3 billion issued cards. The annual world turnover exceeds 3 trillion. USD. Payment cards are accepted by more than 20 million trade and service enterprises. About half a million banking branches that provide services carry out transactions with payment cards, and the number of ATMs has exceeded 700 thousand. Along with local (national) systems, international payment card settlement systems are increasingly developing. The main part of the world market of plastic cards is controlled by two largest companies - Visa International and MasterCard International. If we divide the entire world market of plastic cards into the spheres of influence of the main players - payment systems, we will get the following picture: the Visa payment system accounts for about 57%, Europay / MasterCard about 26%, American Express - about 13%, and others ( including DinersClub and JCB) - 4%.

Russian banks have always been distinguished by their desire to actively develop the card business and have already accumulated some experience in issuing both foreign cards under the license of the largest financial associations, and their own ruble and currency cards. Nevertheless, the scale of use of payment cards is still noticeably inferior to the average statistical indicators for European countries. This is largely due to the fact that this segment of the banking services market was particularly hit by the financial crisis on August 17, 1998. The multiple decline in the physical volume of trade and even greater decline in consumer imports was not the main blow to the market. The defaults of issuing banks that are systemically important for this market, such as Inkombank, SBS-AGRO, Most, Menatep, Imperial, and others, resulted in up to 90% of funds on card accounts being frozen. The ATM economy has practically ceased to exist in Russia. Domestic Russian interbank card servicing operations were almost completely stopped. Many outlets that accepted cards went bankrupt. International payment systems have blocked the codes of Russian banks. As a result, cardholders of these systems were able to make payments only within Russia.

Gradually, the situation began to change for the better. Many are interested in the restoration and dynamic development of the Russian plastic card market: international payment systems that have not resigned themselves to the loss of capital in Russia, international insurance systems, retail outlets, etc.

At the end of 2005, the total number of issued bank cards in Russia amounted to 20.5 million cards, in 2007 - the number of issued cards increased to 29.5 million, and in 2008 - to 41 million. Russia has issued almost 54 million cards. An interesting fact is that the ratio of international and Russian systems is 48% and 52%, respectively. The largest number of issued cards and the volume of transactions with their use falls on the international payment systems Visa and Europay / MasterCard, which is explained, first of all, by the developed infrastructure designed to carry out transactions using cards of these payment systems both in Russia and abroad. ... Along with this, domestic payment systems operate in Russia: Zolotaya Korona, Union Card, ACOORD, STB Card and a number of other small systems.

Considering a bank plastic card as a payment instrument, it is necessary to highlight its main advantages and benefits. For the client himself, this is ease of use, reduced risk of loss of funds, benefits when receiving services in trade and service enterprises, reduced costs during financial transactions, automatic conversion, financial attractiveness - interest accrual, remote account management and much more; - for enterprises - expanding sales and attracting new customers, reducing the cost of collecting proceeds, increasing the security of work using the signatures of the owners, prestige and a number of other advantages; - for banks - expanding the range of services, the emergence of new customers, reducing the cost of operations due to paperless technology, charging additional fees - and as a result, increasing income, increasing the competitive potential of the bank.

Unfortunately for a Russian user, a bank card is no longer a payment instrument, but a means of withdrawing cash. According to the COMCON study, the share of card payments in the daily settlements of the population is more than 10 times lower than in American supermarkets, where they account for 60%. This is due to a number of reasons that predetermined the problems existing on the plastic card market in Russia.

First, the development of telecommunications infrastructure in Russia is at a low level compared to other developed countries. Second, the 1998 financial crisis largely undermined confidence in banks, but the situation is now changing for the better. Thirdly, unfortunately, a full-fledged state policy regarding the plastic card market has not yet been developed, which would provide for both legislative regulation of the entire range of relations between market participants and the development of programs to support domestic innovative solutions in the field of payments with plastic cards. And the fourth problem is to highlight the problem of security. Nevertheless, now all over the world there is a tendency to switch from magnetic cards to smart cards, which undoubtedly contributes to an increase in the degree of payment security in general.

The payment card market is increasingly becoming a field of competition between Russian banks. Bank card transactions are among the most profitable types of banking activities. On average, income per unit of cost in the card business is higher than for other types of transactions. First, it should be noted such profitable projects as the implementation of salary schemes, which are so popular in Russia and some CIS countries. The costs of servicing such projects for the bank are minimal due to the high degree of automation of the process. Secondly, commissions for making payments when using plastic cards, as well as commissions received from trade and service enterprises for servicing, can be very significant for the bank.

Figure 1. Number of users of the main types of plastic cards,% of users of plastic cards (2009)

* the sum of the answers exceeds 100%, since the question involved the choice of several types of cards

Most card users use only one plastic card. This was reported by 85% of surveyed card users. Every tenth user of plastic cards (12%) uses 2 cards. 2% of the surveyed card users have 3 cards in circulation, and 1% have 4 or 5 plastic cards.

Figure 2. Structure of plastic card users by the number of cards in use by the respondent,% of card users (2009)

A similar structure of card users in terms of the number of plastic cards in circulation is observed for all major types of plastic cards. At least 90% of users of a certain type of card use only one plastic card. The structure of card users by the number of cards in circulation among users of various types of cards is presented in more detail

Table 1. Structure of plastic card users by the number of cards in use by the respondent among users of the main types of cards,% of card users

Thus, we can conclude that most of the users of plastic cards have no more than 1 valid card in circulation.

Most of the card users have been using them for more than 1.5 years. The largest shares in the structure of card users by duration of use (Fig. 4) are those who use cards from 1.5 to 3 years (30% of surveyed card users) and more than 3 years (30% of surveyed card users).

17% of surveyed card users reported that they use plastic cards from 1 to 1.5 years. Every tenth surveyed card user uses cards from 6 months to 1 year. Only 6% of surveyed card users are new users who started using this banking service less than 6 months ago.

The specificity of the Russian market is that the market is developing mainly not at the expense of individual depositors and cardholders, but at the expense of salary projects. The essence of which is the bank's servicing of the process of calculating and issuing wages to employees of the enterprise using bank plastic cards. This system is very widespread in the regions of Russia and the share of salary cards accounts for about 70 percent of all issued cards. This largely explains the behavior of holders, who, after calculating their wages, immediately withdraw them from an ATM, hence a high percentage of cash withdrawals.

However, a combination of two conditions will stimulate the use of plastic cards in Russia. First, the card settlement mechanism should be no less convenient than using cash. Second: the use of cards should be affordable, that is, minimal in cost and beneficial to the client.

Nevertheless, despite the presence of obstacles and difficulties, as well as rather large initial costs associated with the launch and development of technologies for using plastic cards, Russian banks are increasingly using this tool to implement strategic goals for the development of the retail business. If a bank expects to stay in any niche in the private deposit market, it cannot do without issuing payment cards.

According to the economists themselves: "The future of banking services is behind plastic cards." And this is really so - despite a number of problems, the Russian market of plastic cards is developing at a fairly fast pace and inspires great hope.

Plastic cards in crisis.

According to the large American malls Walmart, Penny and Target, their visitors have become less likely to use plastic cards to pay for purchases, preferring to pay in cash. The reason for this was the notorious economic crisis, in connection with which the use of a credit card became not a cheap pleasure. And the debt of Americans on credit cards as of 2008 amounted to about $ 850 billion, which is an order of magnitude higher than in previous years.

With the growing debt, American banks are setting increasingly stringent conditions for issuing cards, as well as increasing interest on existing loans and fees for using cards.

All this immediately affected the large American plastic card manufacturers, whose turnover noticeably decreased.

Plastic cards have been actively used only in recent years thanks to the proliferation of "payroll" cards and generous consumer loans.

The pre-crisis "loyalty programs" for potential creditors are still fresh in my mind.

The crisis has made its own adjustments - banks are changing their marketing policy in relation to customers - individuals. For example, the behavior of CB Renaissance Capital in the plastic market has become more conservative, and a number of unpopular decisions were made to tighten credit policy. Other banks also did not stay away from the crisis: a number of banks reduced the maximum lending limits for cards and other products, and tightened requirements for borrowers. In most banks, the number of refusals has increased, especially for young clients and clients working in areas most sensitive to the crisis (construction, finance, etc.).

Due to the actions of banks, retailers began to fever. For example, the Aeroflot company, against the background of an unstable situation with consumer loans, suspends accepting payments by bank cards. After the wave of consumer dissatisfaction that arose because of this, the company explained that this is a temporary phenomenon caused by a system failure due to a hacker attack. But give smaller firms a reason - and refusals to accept non-cash payments can become massive!

Of course, many retailers are frightened by the prospect of accepting a bank transfer payment, but it is really impossible to receive funds debited from the card account due to problems with the issuing bank - the banking sector is shaking now, to put it mildly ... Mass layoffs have started. Some banks change owners, and some lose their licenses.

What should an ordinary consumer do if a store refuses to accept a card for payment? Obviously: either pay in cash, or refuse to buy in this store, and then find out which bank serves this outlet, and try to complain there. If the equipment at the outlet is in good order and there is a payment system logo at the entrance, the seller is obliged to accept the cards for payment, - the legal service of the Independent Association of Buyers of Russia (NAP RF) told us responsibly, otherwise, lawyers recommend clarifying the name and telephone number of the bank serving point of sale, and report the refusal there.

Optimistic financial experts argue that there is no crisis as such (systemic crisis) in the card payment system. So far, the situation in the banking sector is more or less stable and there is no reason for panic. Small banks are certainly at risk of bankruptcy though. There are isolated cases of delays in the issuance of funds from the account, including through an ATM - financiers recommend transferring their salaries to large reliable banks.

In the international market, credit cards have also lost their impeccable reliability. The number of non-payments on loans is growing, clients are closing accounts. International banks are tightening lending conditions. Against the background of the general global crisis, purchasing power has also sharply decreased. Consumers keep their spending to a minimum and refuse to take out loans. This leads to negative consequences for retailers and banks.

What can Russian cardholders expect? Some experts give cautious forecasts: at the moment, the main players do not change the limits on cash withdrawals for either debit or credit cards, but potentially banks have this opportunity. Pessimists predict a significant contraction of the credit card market, believing that salary projects of commercial banks will "curtail" by 50% -70%, since they were tied to settlement and cash services and credit services. Non-state banks and branches, as well as subsidiaries of foreign banks, will curtail retail projects: in a crisis, no one will pay extra.

Against the background of black crisis clouds, a single star shines a credit card from the Bank of Moscow with the BOP function (the ability to pay for metro fares). In addition to the fact that it is accepted for payment almost everywhere, it is very convenient for it to pay for the metro fare: unlike a traditional pass, it has no "period of use", and also no interval between re-uses! Unfortunately, the Bank of Moscow unilaterally increased the minimum fee for withdrawing cash from ATMs - from 150 to 290 rubles, but this is perhaps the only "bitter pill" that the happy owner of credit plastic will have to swallow ...

The Credit Card Crunch, which the US warned about last summer, could have more serious consequences than the subprime mortgage crisis. America's mortgage lending continues to grow, no matter what. For example, the fact that the volume of sales of new homes is approaching the lows of 1963, and delinquency on mortgages, according to experts, will grow by the end of the year from 4.6 to 8%, and possibly even higher. Now these rates are under the control of the government. The issuers of plastic cards, as well as the rates on such loans and penalties for delays, are not under control. In this sense, emerging markets are no different from American ones - in the USA the penalty rate on the card can be up to 60%, and the usual one - up to 11-19% per annum. But the danger of the plastic crisis is not even that - we are talking about a blow to the very way of life of Americans - to buy a flat TV now, with a credit card, - to pay later.

The credit card market in Russia will not be seriously reduced.

According to experts' forecasts, by the end of the year, American banks will be forced to cut credit lines for plastic cards by half. Banks cut lines of credit for fear of default. In 2008 alone, the level of delinquency on plastic, according to the Federal Reserve System, increased by 38% and reached 5.56% by the end of the year.

For Russia, this situation is not so urgent - the market for credit plastic cards is small. Of the 118 million cards issued at the end of October 2008, no more than 5% are actually credit products.

During the crisis, the number of cases of fraud in the field of plastic cards when using ATMs increased by about 1.5 times.

Now the main centers are Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Often the kits (overlay on the keyboard and on the card reader) are supplemented with a mini-video camera for recording a pin code. Also, fraudsters can install readers inside the ATM itself and reconfigure it so that it decodes and transmits information about the cards.

According to the Association of Regional Banks of Russia, in 2008 the volume of losses associated with fraud in the payment card market in the Russian Federation increased 3 times and amounted to about 1 billion rubles.