Central & Eastern Europe: Russia - Slow On The Cards - Credit Cards Are Relatively New To Russia And Take-up Is Still Slow As Cash Remains The Dominating Payment Method. Brian Caplen Reports On Progress. From: The Banker | Date: July 1, 2008| Author: Caplen, Brian | COPYRIGHT 2008 FT Business. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Byline: BRIAN CAPLEN

Russians may have quickly developed a taste for capitalist essentials, such as cars and designer clothes, but credit cards seem to be taking a while longer to get established. Out of 103 million financial cards in circulation, only 12 million are credit cards and many holders use them like debit cards to get cash out of ATMs rather than buying goods in shops.

Russia remains a predominantly cash society and outside of the big cities, suc...