Let me tell you, I am currently studying in St. Petersburg.

International students here basically do not apply for bank cards in Russia, because the procedures are very troublesome. You must first obtain a visa on arrival (most visas on arrival take about a month to process) and go to your department chair to apply for one. You must provide proof to apply for a bank card. The banks here charge higher fees no matter what kind of business you do, which is not cost-effective. Furthermore, most of the banks here are private banks (non-state-owned). Bank failures often occur in the financial crisis environment. The language barrier is one of the reasons for not applying for a bank card when you are new here.

If you want to withdraw cash, it is most convenient to use Western Union. China Everbright Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Postal Savings Bank all over the country can handle this. After arriving in Russia, international students can withdraw cash with their passports and surveillance codes. I just handled this business last month and it was very convenient. Moreover, Western Union remittance is very common in Russia. Taking St. Petersburg as an example, there are no less than 5 banks on Vasily Street that handle Western Union remittance.

Any bank card (credit card) with the Visa logo can be used here. Most shopping malls and supermarkets here can swipe card purchases, and you can even swipe cards to buy a pencil in a small stationery store. What you pay with your card here is rubles, and your family in China will exchange the money for you in RMB, which can save a lot of handling fees. However, the fees for withdrawing cash using a credit card are very expensive.

So I suggest friends who are studying in Russia to ask their families to remit cash via Western Union, and then apply for a visa card when they usually go to the supermarket (to buy food and daily necessities).

Warm reminder: 1. When you first come to Russia, it is best to bring enough tuition and living expenses for at least half a year (it is best to bring one year, about 10,000 US dollars is appropriate, it depends on the tuition fee. It is more suitable to have about 5,000 US dollars left after paying tuition) 2. When exchanging US dollars in Russia, Russians have higher requirements for US dollars. If the US dollars are too old or have writing or stamps on them, then Not redeemable. Therefore, when exchanging U.S. dollars in China, you should ask the bank to give U.S. dollars that are newer and do not have small stamps (the same applies to euros). This is very important. It is possible that all the money you bring cannot be used here or can only be exchanged at a lower price on the black market, and you may even get counterfeit currency!

3. The U.S. dollar has fallen sharply now. When I first arrived in September, one U.S. dollar could be exchanged for about 31.5 to 32.0 rubles. Now it has dropped to about 28.8 just in November. The euro is relatively stable.