Russian bank is Europe’s top card issuer

Russian state-run lender Sber (formerly Sberbank) is the largest issuer of bank cards among European financial institutions, its press service announced on Friday. It cited data from the latest Nilson Report, a US-based analytical firm specializing in the card and mobile payment industry.

The report shows that as of the end of 2023, Sber led by a huge margin, both in the number of bank cards in circulation and the volume of POS transactions on the continent. Out of 920 million cards issued by the top-50 European banks, some 182 million, or 19.8%, were Sber cards, data showed, while Sber’s POS transactions in 2023 amounted to nearly half a trillion dollars.

According to Dmitry Malykh, Sber’s senior vice president, the figures come as no surprise.

“Since 2021, Sber has consistently topped the ranking of the largest issuers of debit and credit cards in Europe… For several years now, we have been actively developing innovative payment methods using NFC, QR code, or paying with a smile in the SberPay family of payment services, and Sber’s technological leadership here is obvious,” he stated.

Sber is the largest bank in Russia, and in Central and Eastern Europe, with net profit for the first six months of 2024 topping 768 billion rubles ($8.3 billion). The lender boasts 81.9 million people as monthly active users of its online platform. Last year, Sber was named the strongest brand among European financial institutions and the seventh strongest European brand overall, ahead of Michelin, Lamborghini and Rolex, by London-based consultancy Brand Finance.

Facing Western sanctions over Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, Sber withdrew from the EU banking market in mid-2023. The lender previously operated in the region through Sberbank Europe AG, had branches in eight EU countries and served some 715,000 clients. Sber has since focused largely on domestic operations within Russia, as well as expanding in Asia. The bank has had a branch in India since 2010, but recently revealed plans to launch operations in Bangladesh and China.

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