MERELY RUSSIAN ADVANTAGES (Cards’ World, №2/2010)
The interview with the Head of Department for emission and support the plastic cards for Citibank
Ann Pavlova
Cards’ World: What principles do you guide when choosing suppliers?
Ann Pavlova: The main principles are, first of all, optimal combination of cost and quality, secondly, mutual understanding between the bank and the company-supplier. It is necessary that those goals which we set to us as to the bank should be clear to the party which will implement them. Correspondingly, they have to be able to offer something for improvement and optimization of our solutions, that is they are expected to show readiness not only to complete order but to offer some their own variants, to lead a discussion in expert way, in the result of which it would be possible to settle at a decision satisfying both parties. Quality also implies not only the ability to launch a card «in a steady tempo» but a wide and various services spectrum, the ability to bring information to us as to a client.
C.W.: Do you see any advantages of Russian manufacturers? If yes, what are they?
A.P.: It is going without saying that Russian manufacturers have their advantages especially now, when the market has been already defined and settled, and specialists from both parties have a rich experience. The main advantage of Russian suppliers is in that they are close and communications with them except customs, contacts with which often cause additional time and finance costs. All that influences the cost
of the final product, which turns out to be lower than foreign counterparts have at similar quality.
C.W.: How long do you cooperate with NovaCard? What cards do they produce for your bank?
A.P.: We have been working with NovaCard for a long time, since 2007. At the present moment they produce all kinds of cards for us, which we use in our work, such as debit, credit, classic, gold, co-branded and corporative. The co-branding project with Moscow underground Citi Express Card is the only exception. These cards enclose a unique chip and, according to the exclusive contract with Moscow underground, they are produced by another company for us as well as for other banks.
C.W.: What additional services, besides cards printing, does NovaCard render for you?
A.P.: They offer certain consultations on trend in innovation, fresh ideas within the existing products to us. They develop design for new products, produce loyalty cards with our logo, but without personalized information written on the magnetic strip.
C.W.: In what way will your cooperation with NovaCard develop further?
A.P.: We hope that our cooperation will develop further. We have a lot of new ideas and plans which we will implement with our partner – the company NovaCard. We hold tenders for the suppliers from time to time and this company has traditionally acted as a leader.
