Market of plastic cards in Russia: features and prospects of development

The life of modern man can’t be imagined without a plastic card, and even twenty years ago, such a tool without personal calculations was available only to a few. In this article the history of development of Russian market of plastic cards represented the main stages, the last is characterized by intensive development due to expand the functionality of the cards. The author summarizes the main types of plastic cards and gives their characteristics. The main trends of this market is an increase in their penetration into the regions, as well as the transition from the plastic form of cards to electronic with biometric identification of the user.