UrBC, Yekaterinburg, March 20, 2018. Sverdlovsk Region locals are now using their bank cards increasingly more often: they bought over RUR 382bn worth of goods and services through bank transactions last year, which is 14% more than one year previously, the Bank of Russia’s Ural Division’s press service reports.

The number of transactions also rose by 15%, up to RUR 464.5m.

At the same time, cardholders still tend to use ATMs for cash withdrawal less than in the previous years. In 2017, only 18.6% of card transactions were related to cash withdrawal. All in all, cardholders made 571m transactions (total amount: RUR 1.171 trillion) in 2017.

8,431,277 cards got issued in Sverdlovsk Region last year altogether, including 804,368 Mir cards. A local dweller has an average of two bank cards at the moment.

As of January 1, 2018, there are 5,895 ATMs and POS terminals and 84,473 e-terminals in Sverdlovsk Region.