Moscow, Russia – 11 March 2021.
Tinkoff has published the findings of its Russian credit card market research for 2020.

The research is based on data from the Bank of Russia and includes only non-overdue debt (demand loans and overdrafts to individuals).

Market size and performance

Despite the challenges faced by the financial sector amid the pandemic, Russia’s credit card market hit a new high of RUB 1.621 tn. In 2020, credit card debt rose by 1.6%, or RUB 26 bn in absolute terms. In 2019, the growth rates reached a record high of 21.8% and RUB 285 bn, respectively.

Throughout the year, the credit card market’s performance was mixed. In 1Q 2020, before the introduction of the COVID-19 lockdown, the market grew by RUB 48 bn. April witnessed the highest monthly decrease, with debt shrinking by RUB 57 bn. Total drop for2Q 2020 amounted to RUB 42.7 bn.

Growth returned in the middle of the year, with the credit card market volume reaching RUB 1.6 tn. In 3Q 2020, the market added RUB 37 bn, while in November it hit the year’s high of RUB 1.647 tn. December saw traditional declines, with debt shrinking by RUB 26.2 bn.

Sovcombank was the key contributor to market growth in 2020. Its portfolio increased by 94% (up RUB 39.6 bn) to RUB 81.7 bn. Tinkoff and Alfa-Bank grew their portfolios by RUB 14.6 bn and RUB 10.9 bn, respectively.

Market concentration

The top three players remain unchanged: Sberbank with a portfolio of RUB 703 bn, Tinkoff with a portfolio of RUB 227 bn, and Alfa-Bank with a portfolio of RUB 183 bn.

Sberbank’s share of the credit card market keeps declining for the third year running, with the bank having lost 0.6 pp in twelve months. The top performer in terms of market share growth was Sovcombank (up 2.4 pp). Tinkoff increased its share of the market by 0.7 pp and Alfa-Bank by 0.5 pp.

The top five banks by market share were Sberbank (43.4%), Tinkoff Bank (14%), Alfa-Bank (11.3%), VTB (6.2%), and Sovcombank (5%).

The number of credit institutions holding a portfolio of over RUB 1 bn declined to 29 (vs 31 a year earlier, with Qiwi Bank and Levoberezhny having dropped off the list), while their combined market share increased to 99.6%.

Key players

In 2020, Sovcombank joined the top five credit card market leaders in Russia after acquiring a portfolio of Sovest instalment cards. As a result, its portfolio increased by RUB 39.6 bn to RUB 81.7 bn as at 1 January 2021.

Tinkoff ranked second in terms of both portfolio growth and market share expansion. O the top ten banks, only six managed to increase their portfolios, while market share gains were achieved by just five players. While Sberbank succeeded in adding RUB 2.5 bn to its portfolio, its market share dropped by 0.6% against the backdrop of stronger competition.

OTP Bank recorded considerable growth, with its portfolio increasing by 40% (up RUB 5.7 bn) to RUB 19.8 bn.

Out of the top ten market leaders, VTB experienced the greatest portfolio contraction in 2020, as its portfolio declined by 7% (down RUB 7.5 bn) to RUB 100.1 bn.

Our methodology

This report was drafted by Tinkoff’s team based on data from the Bank of Russia and includes only non-overdue debt (demand loans and overdrafts to individuals). Tinkoff Bank’s analysts use amounts in accounts 45502 (loans and other funds provided to resident individuals for a period of up to 30 days), 45508 (demand loans and other funds provided to resident individuals), 45509 (deposit account overdrafts provided to resident individuals), 45707 (demand loans and other funds provided to non-resident individuals), and 45708 (deposit account overdrafts provided to non-resident individuals).

Promsvyazbank was excluded from the research retrospectively, as form 101 on the cbr.ru website contained no data on the bank.

Russia’s credit card market in 2020