UrBC, Yekaterinburg, August 22, 2019. Russian business owners have been increasingly switching to non-cash transactions lately. According to the Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development’s data, every one in three customers opening a settlement account with the bank applies for an all-purpose business card as well.

‘The card is the regular bank plastic one connected to your company settlement account. The business owners can use the card to pay for products and services, add money to the account, and have several extra cards issued for the employees, with spending limits for each,’ the bank’s press service says.

According to the UBRD Corporates Development Director Elena Sorvina, business owners tend to use the card for non-cash payments (the share of non-cash transactions comes to 86% of all the card-related activity).

The cards are typically used at supermarkets, filling stations, and garages, as well as for paying for repairs or telecom services. The overall volume of card transactions rose by 1.5 times in the second quarter of 2019 compared with the first quarter, whilst the average receipt amount increased by 16% and reached nearly RUB 3,000 per transaction.