Bank "Tsentr-Invest" will become the first Russian credit institution since 2023 that UnionPay has connected to its system. Pre-orders opened on July 13, and cards will be available in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Maykop, Volgograd, and the bank's branches in southern Russia.
Currently, only Rosselkhozbank and Asian-Pacific Bank issue UnionPay cards in the country. ATB cards are accepted in more than 180 countries, RSHB cards in approximately 150, but they will not work in the European Union from July 20, 2025.
Market participants consider the launch significant: after 2022, the system did not accept new Russian banks. For customers, this is another way to pay abroad without opening an account in another country.
Demand for such cards remains. In 2025, Russians spent more than 67 billion rubles abroad using RSHB cards. In the first four months of 2026, the volume of transactions in China reached 8.2 billion rubles, in Thailand – 6.4 billion, in Vietnam – 1.4 billion, and in Turkey – 1.3 billion.
At the same time, experts doubt that the project will quickly pay off due to the limited customer base. Rather, issuing cards will help "Tsentr-Invest" attract new customers and increase brand awareness.