Plastic money.

In Russia a lot of people wrongly name any plastic card as a credit which has been released by bank. Though the majority of cards in the market -there are the debit cards which do not allow their owner to purchase on credit. However there are the cards that provide not only allocation of the demand credit line from the bank, but also an opportunity of their usege is free-of-charge.

A bit of a history: first plastic cards appeared in Russia in the middle of 70th of the previous century. But their present development has begun at the beginning of 90. Then the majority of banks offered to the clients only with debit cards which allowed to spend only your own means. Their client should come in the bank and put on the invoice the sum of money. An the beginning of this century the Russian market has seen the first credit card. And it was not ususal credit card in the western understanding, the cards with an opportunity of accommodation as your means but also the credit limit possibility.

So, let's figure out:

The debit card is a plastic card on which the client brings or transfers money resources for subsequent use. For this card the Bank does not open to the client any demand lines of credit and does not give an overdraft.

The credit (revolving) card is a plastic card to which the bank opens the demand line of limit credit sum for a client. There are not any mortgages or guarantees. I.e. the credit card is the credit which is given directly to the private person that doe or does not pawn any property or money resources in the bank, brings or does not bring the letters of guarantee. Its essence is simply a piece of plastic with the size about 86*54 mm with a ferromagnetic strip. There is a name of the owner on it, his code, the sample of the signature and the number of the personal bank account.

Credit cards are usually issued by banks on plastic of international payment systems VISA or MasterCard. MasterCard is the largest reception network of credit cards in the world. You should not have plenty cash on you but in case they will be necessary you will receive them without any problems, as MasterCard possesses also the biggest network of cash dispenses in the world. Payment system VISA offers users of a card of several kinds: VISA Electron, VISA Classic, VISA Gold, VISA Platinum. It is electronic, classical, gold and platinum cards. Certainly, the most valid attitudes will be caused abroad by havingon you gold and platinum cards, but electronic and classical variants however are most widespreaded.

"Visa" is better to work in roubles or dollars, depending on where you are going to use it. If in Russia, your variant is roubles, if abroad it is dollars.

In the SberBank, strongly keeping to be the most reliable, it is harder to receive the card and the consultation. As to the credit cards, it is not a secret anymore, that at the SberBank the requirement to borrowers even more rigid than in the western banks.

By the way, for cashing through the cash dispenses all the banks raise the comission. As a rule, the commission of a “ native bank ” (if the cash dispense belongs to that bank in which theaccount is opened) makes from 0,8 % up to 1,5 %. "Another" cash dispenses charge the commission of 5 %.

The owners of the credit cards can for the goods or the services cashless. The establishment which has given out a card makes transfer of the money from the invoice of the owner to payment account. For receiving of a credit card in bank or in some other credit establishment there is no necessity to bring the mortgage or to give any letters of guarantee. Everything necessary to make is it to show the passport and to fill in the questionnaire. In some banks it is required to show the second identification card. For example, a driving licence.

It is necessary for future owners of the credit cards to know when the commission for service is charged. The first percent should be taken after activation of a new card, only when the client has made his first purchase. If in the first extract from the bank the percent were taken before activation of a card it is a wrong variant so the clients have all the rights to claim the bank.

Percent are paid only on the used part of debts. Repayment of debts is usually carried out by the monthly payments on an extract exposed by the bank.

Having a credit card, it is possible take cash, taking advantage of a network of cash dispenses of any bank. However, on removal of cash there are some restrictionsand limits, but it is always possible to receive a missing sum in some other cash dispense or in same one, having entered the card and a PIN-code once again.

Unique inconvenience of the credit cards is that not all the shops accept plastic cards for payment for the goods or services, but in all more or less large trading networks it is possible to pay off on credit using a card.

The credit card is absolutely irreplaceable at booking hotel or renting of the car. In such cases, the necessary sum is not written off but is blocked on the invoice of the client. Percent for the blocked sum are not charged.

If you loose a credit card it is necessary to execute following actions:

First, you should inform immediately your bank about the about loss of a card. To block a card, it is necessary for you to inform the operator of service number and validity of your card and to answer on his questions. Specify a surname, a name and a patronymic of the operator who has accepted from you the message about the loss of a card. If you are abroad and cannot inform the Bank which has given you a credit card then it is necessary to address in the service centers of your payment systems.

Further in writing form you should inform your bank on the fact of the loss. In your application all the circumstances of the loss of the card should be fixed and also about the information of its illigal usage if they are known to youl. After reception of this application (if it will not be found out that illegal use took place from your consent), your responsibility for further use of a card stops. If the card has been stolen, declare about the situation in militia or police, or in a consular department of the Russian Federation in the country where the crime took place, still the copy of the report should be shown in your bank.