UniCredit Bank to increase fees for servicing debit cards due to cancellation of VAT benefits

MOSCOW. Dec 25 (Interfax) - UniCredit Bank has notified owners of debit cards with a monthly service fee about an increase in tariffs from January 1, 2026, due to the cancellation of VAT benefits, according to a corresponding letter from the bank obtained by Interfax.

The law, which cancels the VAT exemption in effect since 2006 for operations and services related to bank card servicing starting next year, was signed by President Vladimir Putin at the end of November.

According to UniCredit Bank's new tariffs, service fees for most types of main cards will increase from 249 to 300 rubles. For Visa Air cards, fees will rise from 500 to 610 rubles, Visa Platinum+ Extra - from 1,500 to 1,830 rubles, and for Prime cards from 5,000 to 6,100 rubles. The first deductions will occur in February.

The service fee for annual debit and credit cards will not be charged from January 1 to June 30. For such cards, the new fees will come into effect on July 1, 2026.

Central Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina, commenting on the cancellation of VAT benefits in mid-December, said that there is a risk that banks will pass on the costs from the cancellation of benefits into their fees. "Economic entities make decisions [on tariffs for their services] independently, but also taking into account both demand and the existing competition. This competition also exists in the payment market. Therefore, I think banks will take this into account," Nabiullina said.

Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Sazanov said in November that the annual budget revenues from the introduction of this norm are estimated at approximately 30 billion rubles. He also said that the cancellation of the benefit would not lead to a significant increase in the cost of these services and would not seriously harm the development of cashless payments.