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- The threat from the rate: interest on credit cards reached 50, despite a decrease in the key
The threat from the rate: interest on credit cards reached 50, despite a decrease in the key
Credit card rates jumped by 5 percentage points over the year and approached 50% per annum, Izvestia found out. This happened despite the fact that the key value has decreased by 6 percentage points during this time. "Plastic" is becoming less profitable for banks: many customers use only the grace period, without actually paying interest. To compensate for the losses, financial institutions are reviewing the terms — reducing grace periods, raising rates and reducing limits. How not to get into increased payments when using credit cards — in the Izvestia article.
Why are credit card rates so high?
The average level of real rates on credit cards in February reached almost 50% per annum, according to data from the United Credit Bureau (OKB), which was studied by Izvestia. Over the year, they increased by 5 percentage points, although the Central Bank at the same time reduced the key from 21 to 15%.
— Credit card conditions are not conducive to demand: The rates reach 50% per annum, and banks are forced to shorten the interest-free grace period. This leads not only to an increase in the cost of the product for borrowers, but also to a deterioration in its consumer properties," said Mikhail Aleksin, General Director of OKB.
The total cost of the loan, or real loan rates, is an indicator that reflects the real loan price for the client. It includes not only the interest rate, but also commissions, insurance and other mandatory payments. This indicator is used so that the citizen can see the actual overpayment of the loan.
"Banks have sought to increase the marginality of credit cards, as a significant part of borrowers prefer to use them only during the grace period," the Central Bank's press service explained.
According to the regulator's estimates, at the end of 2025, about 65% of credit card transactions occurred during the grace period, during which the customer does not pay interest. This allows the population to cover current expenses, and invest their free money or keep it on deposits.
At the same time, the rates on "plastic" directly depend on the cost of the funds raised, the Central Bank recalled. Banks continue to service expensive deposits issued during the high-key period.
At the beginning of 2026, average deposit rates exceeded 17%, according to data from Finuslug. In such circumstances, banks cannot provide loans at lower interest rates.
"At the same time, the rate includes expenses for creating reserves for problem and non—performing loans," the Central Bank's press service emphasized.
The cards initially belong to more risky products, explained Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global. Delays and defaults are more common in this segment, so banks raise rates to compensate for possible losses and weed out unreliable borrowers.
The general economic situation also affects the conditions for plastic, said Maxim Gmyrya, the founder of Sequoia Group. Incomes of a part of the population remain unstable, and financial discipline is declining, so people are increasingly using credit cards as a quick source of money. This leads to an increase in delinquencies and a deterioration in the quality of the banks' portfolio, which is why they place even greater risks in the cost of the product.
In conditions of economic uncertainty, financial institutions are more cautious about issuing loans, confirmed Mikhail Bryukhanov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Pervouralskbank. This allows them to reduce potential losses.
Why do banks lower card limits?
Simultaneously with the increase in interest rates, banks are reducing card limits, the Central Bank noted. This is partly due to restrictions on risky loans from the regulator.
Since the beginning of 2026, banks cannot issue credit cards to borrowers who spend more than 80% of their income on debt servicing, Natalia Milchakova noted. We are talking about clients for whom the risk of non-repayment is particularly high.
Restrictions began to be introduced at the end of 2024, said Alexandra Pozharskaya, deputy head of the Popular Front for Borrowers' Rights project. As a result, by the end of 2025, more and more customers were facing refusals, as well as reducing or even zeroing out the limits.
When calculating the debt burden, the bank is obliged to take into account the entire limit on the card, even if the client uses only a small part of it, the expert explained. For example, at a threshold of 100 thousand rubles, the entire amount is taken into account, even if the person actually spent the borrowed money for only 5 thousand rubles.
— It is logical that banks in such a situation "cut" the limits of borrowers who are over—credited and worsen other conditions, - said Alexandra Pozharskaya.
Market participants are optimizing their customer base. If they do not close the limits, the client's debt burden on paper increases, and he can no longer get approval for a consumer loan or mortgage.
In addition, the requirements for borrowers are being tightened: starting in April, when applying for a credit card, it is necessary to confirm income through Gosuslugi or with a 2-personal income tax certificate, Natalia Milchakova noted. For clients without such a document, the conditions become even tougher. This can slow down the growth of the credit card market — by the end of the year it may not exceed 10%, the expert estimated.
How to avoid incurring interest when using a credit card
The behavior of the customers themselves is also changing: more and more people are trying to fit into the grace period and actually use a credit card as a free short loan, said Maxim Gmyrya from Sequoia Group.
However, this approach requires strict financial discipline, the expert emphasized. Any delay or delay in payment leads to withdrawal from grace period. With rates of about 50%, this makes using the card extremely expensive. To avoid overpayments, it is important to plan expenses in advance and be sure that the debt will be repaid on time.
— In practice, this requires a high level of financial training, which is possessed by a minority, — Maxim Gmyrya concluded.
Experts recommend following a few basic rules:
— deposit to the card an amount greater than the minimum payment and sufficient to fully repay the debt during the grace period;
— limit monthly expenses on the card and, if necessary, reduce the established limit to a comfortable level;
— do not withdraw cash or transfer money from a credit card, as this immediately leads to interest accrual on the amount used.;
— do not apply for multiple credit cards at once, so as not to increase the debt burden.
The peculiarity of "plastic" with a grace period is that the interest actually always runs up, but it is canceled when the debt is fully repaid on time, Alexandra Pozharskaya reminded. If the client does not meet this time, interest is accrued for the entire time of using the funds, including the grace period. If you delay at least one payment towards the end of the term, you may immediately face an increase in debt to the bank.
When applying for credit cards, consumers often neglect to carefully study the contract and therefore allow violations of the product's terms of service, concluded Alexandra Pozharskaya. They believe that this is insignificant and has no consequences. However, this is not the case — the slightest violations can significantly increase the debt owed to the bank, so it is important to be careful.
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