Please visit the HSE Front Office  (here you can check out your route to the Front Office) to fill in the application form for your bank card. You need to take your passport, its notarized translation, a valid migration card and your registration with you. If you need support, please contact your coordinator or the International Faculty Support Centre.

Your bank card will be issued within 7 working days from the date when your application is submitted. Please note that Russian banks require that you have a Russian mobile phone number when opening a new bank account. This is necessary because your mobile phone number is going to be linked to security settings of your bank card and to your online banking credentials. However, you may fill in a bank card application while you still do not hold a Russian phone number; but you can only collect your new card at the bank if you have a Russian phone number. If you do not have it, the bank will not provide you with the card.

We suggest that you purchase a Russian SIM card prior to the process of starting your bank card application.

Here is a list of the main mobile networks operators in Russia:

• MTS
• Tele2
• Beeline
• Megafon

You can choose any mobile plan you wish. Please be sure to buy your SIM cards at authorized mobile stores only.

You can collect your SBERBANK bank card in person at 19, Pokrovka Street and your VTB bank card at 28 Building 1, Pokrovka Street. Please contact your coordinator to find out which office you need to visit.
Please remember to bring your passport, its notary translation, your valid migration card and your registration. 

Pokrovka SBERBANK Office:

SBERBANK Office located at 19, Pokrovka Street

Working hours: Monday to Friday 8.30 a.m. - 7.30 p.m; Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

The nearest metro stations are Kurskaya, Chistye Prudy and Turgenevskaya.

The links below are walking routes to the Pokrovka SBERBANK Office from the HSE University campus located at:

• 20 Myasnitskaya Street
• 11 Pokrovsky Bulvar (Pokrovka complex)

SBERBANK Call Centre: 8 (800) 555-55-50

Pokrovka VTB Office
VTB Office located at 28 Building 1, Pokrovka Street 

Working hours: Monday to Friday 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

The nearest metro stations are Kurskaya, Chistye Prudy and Kitay-Gorod.

The links below are walking routes to the Pokrovka VTB Office from the HSE University campus located at:

• 20 Myasnitskaya Street
• 11 Pokrovsky Bulvar (Pokrovka complex).

VTB Call Centre: 8 (800) 100-24-24

Please be advised that SBERBANK and VTB bank (as well as other Russian banks) may contact their clients by phone only for these two reasons:

• to invite you to the bank office;
• to advertise the bank’s new products.

If you received a phone call on behalf of your bank’s security service, be advised that this is a fraudulent phone call. Please finish the call immediately and contact the bank customer service hotline (the number is indicated on the reverse of your card) to make sure your funds are secure.

VTB as well as SBERBANK offer bank card insurance at an additional cost. Your personal funds can be protected against unauthorized access. For more information, please visit this page for VTB banking offers and this page for SBERBANK (in Russian).

SBERBANK offers menu in various languages in its ATMs, including English. All you need to do is to choose the option ‘Сменить язык’ (which means ‘Change language’. You can identify this option by the Russian flag, which is indicated next to it). After changing the language, you can use the ATM following the instructions in English onscreen.

VTB Bank is a Russian bank and its ATM menu is mostly in Russian. The manual provided below will assist you in navigating the menu screens and the available options. The manual (in .pdf) covers money withdrawal: it offers a step-by-step guide, where the translation of instructions into English is highlighted in green. Please make sure that you use the ATMs with VTB sign only, as other cash machines may charge extra fees for cash withdrawals.

VTB 24 Cash withdrawal ed.pdf

This material is offered for your information only, and HSE University shall not bear responsibility if the menu of a specific ATM or any part of it, including the steps sequence and the overall layout, is different from the one you may find in this manual. Thank you for your understanding!

Some ATMs show bank offers or commercials before you can proceed with the required operation. To skip them, please note the translation of the phrases you may see on the screen:

Основное меню – Main menu

Пропустить – Skip

Отмена – Cancel

Продолжить – Continue

Напомнить позже – Remind me later

Назад – Back

If you have salary-related questions, please contact HSE University Accounting Office’s specialist Ekaterina Kolyvanova, e-mail ekolyvanova@hse.ru, +7 (495) 772 9590 ext. 33381.