Sberbank of Russia is the Urals’ No.1 bank in terms of plastic card issuance. Sberbank’s Ural branch provided its customers with over 2.65 million cards in the second quarter of 2008 alone, which was more than 180,000 cards better than in the previous quarter, the bank’s press officer reports.

The bank currently runs 1,490 ATMs and 360 transaction terminals. These self-service devices can be used to make loan payments and pay one’s phone and housing bills as well as the road police’s fines. In addition, one can top up one’s bank card account or transfer money from one bank card account to another as well as have some currency exchanged with the help of an ATM.

The cardholders can also use the card to pay for their shopping without any fee. There are over 7,000 stores and companies within the service sector that accept Sberbank’s Ural branch’s cards.