Ak Bars Debit Card from Ak Bars Bank

You can get the card completely free of charge - Ak Bars Bank does not charge any fee for its issuance. However, its maintenance will not be free for you. There is a subscription fee of 99 rubles per month. 

You can use the card for free if you meet at least one of the free maintenance conditions:

• receive your salary, pension, or social benefits on the card;
• make at least one purchase per month with the card;
• you maintain a non-zero balance of at least 10,000 RUB per month in your accounts and deposits with Ak Bars Bank. 

If you want to receive alerts about deposits and withdrawals, you can enable the relevant service. Its cost depends on the chosen package: 

• "Economy" package. It is free. It includes SMS notifications for deposits and push notifications for deposits and withdrawals. 
• "Maximum" package. It costs 79 RUB per month. It includes SMS and push notifications for any card transactions.

You can top up your Ak Bars Bank debit card for free in any way convenient for you:

• at Ak Bars Bank's own ATMs and cash desks;
• via card-to-card transfers using a phone number through the Faster Payments System;
• via card-to-card transfers using a card number.

You can withdraw cash from the Ak Bars Card for free at ATMs of any bank across Russia for amounts up to 50,000 RUB per month. If you exceed this limit, you will need to pay a fee. It is 2% of the transaction amount, but not less than 100 RUB. 

For cash withdrawals with a debit card outside Russia, you will need to pay 1.5% of the amount, but not less than 300 RUB.

You can transfer money from the card for free only between your own accounts for amounts up to 30 million RUB per month, as well as to other Ak Bars Bank clients.

The card features a fairly standard bonus program. By paying with the Ak Bars Card, you can receive:

• 1% cashback on regular purchases;
• 3% cashback on taxi, fuel, beauty, and entertainment purchases;
• 3% cashback on purchases at medical institutions and pharmacies if you receive your salary or pension on the card;
• up to 45.5% cashback on purchases at Ak Bars Bank partner stores.

You can convert the earned cashback into rubles at a rate of 1 point = 0.5 RUB for transactions up to 2,500 RUB and at a rate of 1 point = 1 RUB for transactions of 2,500 RUB and above.

In addition to purchase cashback, the card also provides interest on the account balance:

• the bank pays 11% per annum on a balance from 30,000 to 100,000 RUB;
• the bank pays 2% per annum on a balance exceeding 100,000 RUB.

If your card balance is less than 30,000 RUB, you will not earn interest.

Pros:

• free card issuance;
• free card maintenance subject to conditions;
• free top-ups via card-to-card or phone number transfers through the Faster Payments System, as well as cash at Ak Bars Bank ATMs and cash desks;
• free cash withdrawals at ATMs of any bank across Russia for amounts up to 50,000 RUB per month;
• free transfers between your own accounts for amounts up to 30 million RUB per month and to other Ak Bars Bank clients without limits;
• cashback of up to 45.5% of the purchase price;
• up to 11% per annum on the account balance. 

Cons:

• paid card maintenance if conditions are not met;
• high fees for cash withdrawals and money transfers to other credit institutions when limits are exceeded.