Russian bank card holders mostly use their cards to pay for goods and services and less often to withdraw cash from ATM.
MOSCOW, March 1, 2019. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the data of a study devoted to how often Russians use their bank cards to pay for goods and services, and what they take into account when choosing a bank card.
An overwhelming majority of respondents (87%) say that they use bank cards more often than 4-5 years ago.
Three-quarters (75%) say that they would pay by card in case they have both card and cash. This is due to the convenience (81%) and an opportunity to get extra bonuses from the bank (70%).
Cards are mainly used by respondents to pay for goods and services in online stores (92%) and in consumer electronics stores (88%). A further 84% use cards in furniture stores; 82%, in clothing and shoe stores. Eighty-one percent of respondents pay taxes and fines with a card; 80%, utility bills. Seventy-nine percent of respondents use cards at groceries; the same share of respondents pay for air and train tickets. Three-quarters (76%) use cards to pay for cosmetics and home care products, 73%, hotel rooms; 72%, petrol at pump station.
Most of respondents take into account the annual service fee and rewards programs (91% and 83%, respectively). If the bank increases the annual service fee or cancels the preferential terms allowing the cardholders to pay with a card free of charge, 59% of those who are aware of the annual fee or those who do not pay this fee will use their cards less often (including 17% of those who will completely stop using the card).
More than half of respondents (56%) possess credit cards; 79% of them have a grace period. Most of those who have a grace period (94%) think this opportunity is very important. If the credit card grace period is cancelled, 80% of those who have this option will have to use the card less frequently or completely stop using the credit card.
VCIOM survey was conducted on January 23-29, 2019. The survey was commissioned by National Payment Association and involved residents of Russian cities with a population of 500,000 inhabitants, aged 18 and over (bank card holders). The method is online survey panel involving 800,000 respondents (based on ESOMAR’s guidelines for online surveys and requirements from ISO 20252 and ISO 26362).
Do you use bank cards to pay for goods and services more often, less or about the same as you did 4or 5 years ago? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) | |
| Total respondents |
Much more often | 69 |
Slightly more often | 18 |
About the same | 11 |
Slightly less often | 1 |
Much less often | 1 |
Don’t know | 0 |
When choosing a payment method (bank card or cash) what are you guided by, given that you have both a card and cash? (open-ended question, up to 5 answers, % of total respodnents) | |
| Total respondents |
Convenience | 47 |
Speed | 30 |
Bonuses, cash back | 28 |
Paying in exact change | 16 |
Payment kiosk machine available | 12 |
Safety | 8 |
Having enough money to pay | 7 |
Total sum of purchase | 7 |
No need to count money | 6 |
Spending control | 5 |
Place of purchase | 5 |
Cash is needed for something else | 5 |
Benefits from using this method | 4 |
No need to have money on you | 4 |
Getting used to it | 2 |
Without extra costs | 2 |
Contactless payment | 1 |
Having to withdraw money | 1 |
Hygiene | 1 |
Other | 16 |
Don’t know | 6 |
In what cases are you likely to pay with your bank card rather than cash? (closed-ended question, one answer per each line, % of total respondents) | |||
| Likely to pay by card | Likely to pay cash | Don’t know |
To pay online purchases , online services | 92 | 5 | 3 |
To pay at electronic and domestic appliances stores | 88 | 7 | 5 |
To pay in furniture stores | 84 | 10 | 6 |
To pay in clothing and shoe stores | 82 | 13 | 5 |
To pay taxes, fines, fees | 81 | 13 | 6 |
To pay utility bills | 80 | 17 | 3 |
To pay in grocery stores | 79 | 15 | 6 |
To pay at air and railway ticket offices | 79 | 14 | 7 |
To pay in cosmetics and home care stores | 76 | 19 | 5 |
To pay at hotels | 73 | 18 | 9 |
To pay for petrol at pump stations | 72 | 15 | 13 |
To pay at car dealership centers | 70 | 13 | 17 |
To pay for tour operator services | 69 | 18 | 13 |
To pay at entertainment facilities (cinema, theatres) | 62 | 32 | 6 |
To pay at restaurants, cafes | 60 | 33 | 7 |
To pay for national post services | 57 | 35 | 8 |
To pay at beauty centers | 51 | 39 | 10 |
To pay for taxi | 34 | 61 | 5 |
What were you likely to take into account when choosing a payment method? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of total respondents) | |||
| Card type (credit or debit) | Bonuses, rewards programs, extra services | Annual service fee |
Definitely important | 58 | 46 | 66 |
Rather important | 26 | 37 | 25 |
Rather not important | 9 | 12 | 5 |
Definitely not important | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Don’t know | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Will you continue using your bank card, if your bank increases the annual service fee and/or cancels preferential terms allowing you not to pay charges if you pay by the same card in most cases? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who are aware of annual service fee) | |
| % of those who are aware of their annual service fee or who do not pay any fee |
Yes, I will | 8 |
Rather yes | 21 |
Rather not | 42 |
No, I will completely stop using the card | 17 |
Don’t know | 12 |
What bank products have you used over the recent year? (closed-ended question, any number of answers, % of total respondents) | |
| Total respondents |
Debit cards (including salary cards) | 86 |
Money transfer | 65 |
Credit cards | 56 |
Savings account | 30 |
Insurance | 29 |
Loan (excluding mortgage loan) | 28 |
Money exchange | 22 |
Mortgage | 14 |
Retirement plan | 11 |
Loan refinancing | 7 |
Bank products for legal entities | 6 |
On-demand deposit (checking account) | 5 |
Deposits of valuables (gold, securities) in lock boxes | 3 |
Other | 1 |
None of the above-mentioned | 0 |
Don’t know | 0 |
Do you have a grace period on your credit card? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who have credit cards) | |
| % of those who have a credit card |
Yes | 79 |
No | 13 |
Don’t know | 8 |
How important is it for you to have a grace period? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who have a grace period) | |
| % of those who have a grace period |
Definitely important | 72 |
Rather important | 22 |
Rather not important | 4 |
Definitely not important | 1 |
Don’t know | 1 |
Will you keep using the credit card to the same extent, if your bank cancels the grace period? (closed-ended question, one answer, % of those who have a grace period) | |
| % of those who have a grace period |
Yes, to the same extent | 14 |
Yes, but not to the same extent; I will use it less often | 41 |
No, I will stop using the card | 39 |
Don’t know | 6 |
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