Private Moscow Bank Issues Credit Cards
In the latest small step toward capitalism in the Soviet Union, a private Moscow bank began issuing credit cards Wednesday for a deposit of $10,000 apiece.
Igor Lipanov, a director of Kredobank, said that initially only companies will be allowed to apply for the cards, the first issued in the Soviet Union apart from small pilot projects by state organizations. Individuals will be invited to subscribe after two or three months.
Westerners have long been able to shop with their own credit cards in the Soviet Union. But their use by Soviet citizens was confined to top members of the old Communist ruling elite.
The wider use of cards, if successful, could revolutionize shopping in a country where most purchases are made by cash and bills are usually calculated using an abacus.
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