Favourable terms or lack of money: Tatarstan residents turn to credit cards more often
The number of newly issued cards in the republic increased by 37% in two months
Residents of Tatarstan have increasingly turned to borrowed funds — in just two months, the number of newly issued credit cards in the republic rose by 37.5%. In June, residents of the region received 28,400 cards, while in August — 37,600. A similar situation is observed across Russia. Speaking about the reasons for this trend, experts of Realnoe Vremya expressed differing views: on the one hand, the downward key rate could have influenced the dynamics, on the other — three percentage points could hardly have played a decisive role. Read more in the publication.
From 28.4k to 37.6k credit cards
In Tatarstan, over two months, the number of newly issued credit cards increased from 28.4 to 37.6 thousand — a rise of 37.5%. These figures come from the analysis of the National Bureau of Credit Histories (NBKI).
It is noteworthy that June saw the lowest number of credit cards issued since the beginning of 2025.
A similar situation is observed across Russia — over two months, the number of issued credit cards grew by 29%. In June, residents of the country received 1.03 million cards, while in August — 1.33 million. Just as in Tatarstan’s statistics, this figure turned out to be the lowest in 2025.
By the end of August, Tatarstan ranked eighth in the number of credit cards issued. The top three were Moscow, the Moscow region and Krasnodar Krai. All regions are showing growth in this indicator.
Key rate reduction
The trend was driven by the gradual reduction of the key rate, which began precisely in June 2025. This view was shared in a conversation with Realnoe Vremya by economist and top manager in financial communications Andrey Loboda.
“Since the beginning of the year, the Russian currency has strengthened against the dollar by around 35%. In addition, the Bank of Russia reversed its monetary policy, gradually lowering the key rate. Naturally, the public analysed the situation and began to use credit products more actively,” he explained.
In the expert’s view, positive changes in the currency market always stimulate the credit activity of Russians.
“Despite this, if I were in people’s place, I would impose a moratorium on loans, because, frankly speaking, it is very expensive. It is necessary to make the financial sector understand that we are not ready to borrow at double-digit figures (the key rate percentage — editor’s note) — it is extremely costly,” he added.
Due to the high cost, Loboda believes, such rapid growth will soon come to an end. The number is expected to fluctuate within ten percent of the current figure.
It is recalled that the Central Bank this week lowered the key rate from 18% to 17% per annum. Prior to this, the reduction took place in June.
“A three-point reduction is insignificant”
Another expert from Realnoe Vremya — economist and head of the company R-Invest, Rustem Shaikhmetov — disagreed with his colleague. In his view, the reduction of the key rate had no impact on the dynamics of credit cards.
According to Shaikhmetov, the reason for this situation lies in another, rather banal phenomenon — a lack of money:
“People’s expenses have increased significantly. For example, utility bills across Russia have risen by 10–15% since July. In addition, overall inflation is rising. As essential expenses have grown, people have begun to use credit cards more often, which allow them to manage and ‘make it to payday.’ Moreover, August brings back-to-school preparations — which again means additional spending.”