russians Are Facing Problems with Credit Card Payments

According to the results of the first half of 2025, 3.8 million credit card defaulters are expected in the rf (2.3 million at the beginning of the year). In May, the total share of credit cards with different terms of overdue debts was 12 % of the total issue, while debts in the “card” portfolio of russian banks amounted to 11.3 %.

The main reason for the growth of overdue debts in the credit card segment is the consolidation of borrowers, i.e. when loans at higher interest rates are taken out to pay off previous ones.

The Central Bank of russia is going to revise the base interest rate, which is currently 20 % per annum, and reduce it by 1-2 %. However, this will hardly make borrowers’ life easier, as cardholders have an average of 2.7 loans per person.