Resident Card of Nizhny Novgorod Region (KZhNO) is a regional digital project of the Nizhny Novgorod Region government: the nn-card.ru portal, a mobile app of the same name, and a personalized contactless card that serves simultaneously as a transit pass, a pass for a school, university, or sports facility, a partner discount card, and — in its bank version — a debit card of the Mir payment system [1][2]. The project operates under Regional Government Resolution No. 1033 of December 30, 2019; its operator is the state autonomous institution "Center for Coordination of Digital Economy Projects" (GAU NO "TsIT") [1][2]. In spring 2020, residents of Nizhny Novgorod used the portal to obtain QR codes for leaving their homes during the self-isolation regime [5][7]; by August 2026, the project had more than 350,000 users [17].

How the project works

According to the official description, the Resident Card is a digital platform with three parts: a portal, a mobile app, and a plastic card; the platform brings together partner promotions, submission of utility meter readings, housing and utility charges, and a section on benefits [1]. The regulations for the project were approved by Nizhny Novgorod Region Government Resolution No. 1033 of December 30, 2019; the project's operating rules, which also draw on the federal law "On the National Payment System," refer to it as well [1][2].

The project operator is the GAU NO "Center for Coordination of Digital Economy Projects" (Nizhny Novgorod, 10A Ulyanova Street). The operator approves the design and types of cards and the application form; admits participants to the project — issuing banks, organizations that place their services on the card (application issuers), and organizations that accept the card (acceptors); and accredits the sites where cards are personalized [2]. For the cardholder, issuance, delivery, and servicing of a card of any type are free of charge; the costs are borne by the participants: under the standard contracts, a bank pays the operator 1,000 rubles per month for the right to use the KZhNO design and app, and a service issuer pays 5 rubles for placing its application on each card issued [2].

The platform was developed by the IT company Lad, and the service itself was integrated into the information and analytical system of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Management Center [3]. The map's transport application is operated by the company "Citycard," the operator of cashless fare payment in Nizhny Novgorod: transit passes are loaded onto the card at its service points and through its mobile app [24][27]. The results of the project are reported by the Region's government — in 2024–2026 its representative was Deputy Governor Egor Polyakov — and by the regional Ministry of Digital Development and Communications [14][15][17]. The project's development strategy also lists future directions — access to healthcare and cultural institutions, doctor's appointments, ticket orders, and access to courtyards and apartment buildings [31].

History

Plans to create the "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" portal became known in 2019 [11]. The mobile app appeared in the Google Play store even before the pandemic, in the "Finance" category [7]. On March 30, 2020, Governor Gleb Nikitin ordered the app to be finalized and rolled out for residents under self-isolation; by that time the beta version promised medical, government, and social services, information on benefits, discounts, and fare payment, and it had been downloaded fewer than ten times [4].

On April 2, 2020, the governor's decree on the high-alert regime required citizens leaving their place of residence to submit a request in the "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" service at nn-card.ru and to present the QR code they received; those without a smartphone were advised to call 112 [5]. From April 15, every working Nizhny Novgorod resident was required to have a QR code, and from April 18 a request had to be submitted before any outing, except walking a dog, taking out the trash, and going to a store [6][7]. By the evening of April 14, according to the Region's government, 1.7 million people had registered on the portal, out of a Region population of 3.2 million [7].

After the pandemic, the project returned to its original concept — a multifunctional card. In October 2020, the State Autonomous Institution of Nizhny Novgorod Region "TsIT" (Center for Information Technologies) signed agreements with Gazprombank and NBD-Bank and announced a test issue of plastic cards [3]. In August 2021, Gazprombank began issuing bank "Resident Cards" based on the Mir payment system [11][30]. On June 1, 2022, at the TsIPR conference, the governor and Olga Golodets, Deputy Chair of the Management Board of Sberbank, signed an agreement on developing the project: 155 Nizhny Novgorod schools were expected to be connected to it — with the card serving as a pass and as payment for meals [12].

The government described 2024 as a relaunch of the project [14][15]. On April 4, 2024, Nizhny Novgorod Region announced the launch of the country's first virtual "Resident Card" in a smartphone app for Android with NFC; at the same time, login to the portal and the app was switched from phone number to authorization via Gosuslugi [13]. In August 2024, VTB joined the project and began mass issuance of cards with a transport application [14][32].

Since the first quarter of 2025, applications for a card with a banking application have been accepted at MFC offices (multifunctional service centers) throughout the Region [15][30]. In 2025, online ordering of student and schoolchild cards appeared, along with the "Parent's Cabinet," the "My Sport" service, a section with free Wi-Fi points, and an artificial-intelligence-powered "Lost Pet Search" service — the latter won the "Prof-IT.2025" competition in the "Artificial Intelligence in Public Administration" category [16]. In January 2026, the project's chatbot went live in the MAX messenger; in July, the card became a key for intercom door locks, and the platform launched monitoring of fuel availability at gas stations [17][35]; and from September 2026, the preferential card can be ordered entirely remotely [18].

Over the course of a year and a half, the "Resident Card" project has grown considerably, and today it offers services and discounts from the project's partners to Nizhny Novgorod residents and visitors alike. Users can now get a card that will serve as a single key to city services related to transportation infrastructure, social security, and health care

— Governor Gleb Nikitin, Kommersant, August 16, 2021 [11]

Types of cards

The project's rules allow the operator to introduce special types of cards for particular categories of citizens — students, volunteers, and veterans [2]. The card is named and personalized: it bears the owner's photograph, surname, first name, patronymic, and date of birth [24].

Types of the "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" (as of September 2026)
TypeWhat it combinesFeatures
Resident card (with a banking app)a Mir debit card, a transit pass, a discount card, and an access pass to partner institutions [1]issued by participating banks; Gazprombank was the first, in 2021, and VTB joined in 2024; account servicing and cash withdrawals are free [11][14][30]
Concession carda transit pass with a reduced fare for certain categories of citizens [24]issued at a multifunctional center (MFC), at Citycard, or, since September 2026, through the portal; the concession is confirmed automatically if the information about it is held by the social protection service [18]
Schoolchild cardschool entry through an access control system, meal payment, a transit pass [20]the meal account is topped up by parents, and the child cannot spend this money on anything else; for first-graders, since 2025 it has been issued before September 1 using data from the Nizhny Novgorod Institute of Education Development [19][20]
Student carduniversity access pass, a transit pass, a bank card [21]by default it carries the "Student Concession E-Wallet" — half the cost of a single trip [24]
Virtual carda transit pass and concessions on a smartphone [13]since April 2024, in the Android app with NFC after logging in through Gosuslugi [13]
Online Cardthe project's functions on an existing Sber Mir card [22]partner discounts, "Privet, Mir!" cashback, an access pass to educational institutions; fare payment and entry to sports and fitness centers (FOKs) are not yet available [22][23]
Victory Cardservices of social institutions, tickets to cultural and sporting events, discounts [28]for veterans and disabled persons of the Great Patriotic War, former concentration camp prisoners, widows of war participants, and "wartime children"; face value of 1,000 rubles per year, with the balance topped up annually; Regional Government Resolution No. 202 of March 15, 2023 [28]

Application and Issuance

In 2021, the first bank cards were issued by only two Gazprombank branches — at 65B Gorky Street and at 4 Freedom Square; a passport, SNILS (individual insurance account number), INN (taxpayer identification number), and a compulsory medical insurance (OMS) policy were required [11]. Later, applications began to be accepted at all MFC (multifunctional public services center) offices in the Region, where a photo is also taken, while the card is picked up at a bank branch; only a passport and SNILS are needed [30]. At VTB, the card is issued upon presentation of a passport, and production takes no more than two weeks [14].

Cards without a banking app — the schoolchild, student, and concessionary cards — are applied for through the Citicard website by uploading a photo and scans of documents (a certificate from the school for a schoolchild, a student ID for a student, a document confirming entitlement to the benefit for a concessionary cardholder) and are picked up at an operator's point of service; production takes 14 days [24]. Since September 2026, an application for a concessionary card can also be submitted on the project's portal: according to Vitaly Klimashov, director of the State Autonomous Institution of Nizhny Novgorod Region "CIT," previously this required going to an MFC or a Citicard office with paper proof of benefits [18].

When a concessionary "Resident Card" is issued through the project's portal, benefits are confirmed automatically if the data on them is available in the social protection service. In that case, only the citizen's photo will be needed for the card

— Vitaly Klimashov, director of the Digital Economy Projects Coordination Center, Nizhegorodskaya Pravda, September 16, 2026 [18]

Features

Transport. The Resident Card's most popular service, according to the regional government, is the transit pass [13]. The card can be used to pay on seven types of transport: trams, trolleybuses, buses, electric buses, the Metro, suburban commuter trains, and the cable car; according to Citycard, 6,500 terminals register payments, and 96 out of 100 trips in Nizhny Novgorod are paid for cashlessly [24]. The card can hold either a pass for a set number of trips or an unlimited monthly pass; it can be topped up remotely through the Citycard app on a phone with NFC [24]. On the cable car, cardholders have separate passes for 10, 20, 30, and 48 trips [27]. By default, a VTB bank card replaces the transit pass under the "Electronic Wallet" fare [32].

Benefits and social services. The portal compiles a list of social support measures — compensations, allowances, and payments available in the Region [14][15]. The card confirms eligibility for a benefit without additional documents when buying a ticket to the ice rink at the Nizhny Novgorod Yarmarka and to the The Nizhny Novgorod Funicular [15][33].

Pass and home. Schoolchildren and students use the card to enter educational institutions connected to the project; the "My Sport" service turns it into a pass for partner sports facilities and lets users sign up for a membership at a FOK (sports and fitness complex) [16][20][21]. In the "Parent's Account," parents can see what time their child arrived at school and information about meals [16]. Since 2026, the card has served as a key to the building entrance in apartment buildings with compatible Dom.ru intercoms: it is linked to the address of permanent registration confirmed on Gosuslugi [26].

Partners. Cardholders get discounts and cashback from the project's partners: in 2025, more than 50 new partners joined, including banks, pharmacies, and a water park; by August 2026, there were more than 70 partners [16][17]. The project is also developing under an agreement between the Region and the National Payment Card System (JSC NSPK): cashback is available at partners when paying with a Mir card or through the SBP (Faster Payments System) [29]. Among the offers is a 5% discount on merchandise of HC Torpedo in the club's official store [34]. By July 2026, Sberbank had 65 partners in the card's loyalty program [23].

Housing and utilities and other services. In the app and on the portal, users submit meter readings and view paid bills [17]. In July 2026, the platform launched a service for monitoring the availability of gasoline and diesel fuel at filling stations: reports from volunteers take priority, and in their absence anonymized transaction data is used [17].

Some travel passes available on the "Resident Card" (Siticard fares, Nizhny Novgorod, September 2026)
PassCost
Unified schoolchild pass for 20 / 40 / 60 trips [25]300 / 600 / 900 rubles [25]
Unified unlimited schoolchild pass for a calendar month [25]1,050 rubles [25]
Unified student pass for 40 / 60 trips (city routes) [25]600 / 900 rubles [25]
Discounted student e-wallet (city and suburban) [25]50% of the single-trip fare [25]
Unified social pass for 20 / 40 trips (city and suburban) [25]300 / 600 rubles [25]
Unified unlimited social monthly pass (city and suburban) [25]960 rubles [25]
Free pass for rural students; discounted pass for veterans of the Great Patriotic War [25]0 rubles [25]
"60 Minutes with a Free Transfer" / "90 Minutes" e-wallet [25]40 / 60 rubles [25]
Cable car, student pass for 10 / 20 / 30 / 48 trips per month [25]600 / 1,200 / 1,800 / 2,880 rubles [25]

Number of Users

The Region's government publishes the project's official figures; in different years it has cited either the number of cards issued or the number of project users, so the series are not fully comparable [14][15][17]. According to a VTB representative in 2024, one in five clients who applied to the bank for a debit card in the region chose the "Resident's Card" [14].

Project Growth According to Official Data
DateIndicator
April 14, 20201.7 million registered on the portal (QR code issuance) [7]
August 2024more than 120,000 cards issued [14]
early 2025more than 207,000 users [15]
2025more than 115,000 cards issued during the year; about 300,000 participants in total; more than 50 new partners [16]
August 5, 2026more than 350,000 users, of whom more than 50,000 joined in 2026; more than 70 partners [17]

Outages and Criticism

The portal's first mass-scale test came during the pandemic. On April 4, 2020, "V gorode N" warned that the QR code encoded all of an application's data, including full name and passport number, and that the camera of any smartphone could read it; the governor responded that the app's security would be improved [8]. On April 14–15, on the eve of the mandatory switch to QR codes for people going to work, the portal stopped loading under the influx of businesses: organizations sat in an electronic queue, employee data did not appear in the system, lists could not be uploaded as a spreadsheet, and HR staff at large plants had to enter workers manually [7]. The government attributed the failure to load and fixed it by increasing server capacity; a participant in the Citycard project named the hasty development of the portal as the cause [7].

Kommersant noted at the same time that the site made it possible to obtain a travel permit for fictitious citizens with nonexistent passport data; experts linked this to the absence of data verification; information security specialist Alexey Lukatsky explained that it is hard to build verification quickly if the portal was not originally connected to a citizen registry, and that most government portals are designed for average, not peak, traffic [7]. On April 15, Google Play blocked the app: the words "COVID-19" had appeared in its description, while it was listed in the "Finance" category; after the center provided clarifications, access was restored on April 16 [7][10]. In those same days, clone sites with similar addresses appeared, and the center appealed to Roskomnadzor to have them blocked [9].

During the 2024 relaunch, data from previously issued cards was transferred to the new system, and the center warned that not all users would see their cards in their profiles right away [13]. Some functions work with limitations: the Online Card on SberKarta does not pay for transit, the intercom key works only in buildings equipped by Dom.ru, and the card serves as a pass only at institutions connected to the project [22][26][11].

This is just some kind of mockery!

— an HR department employee at a metallurgical plant, on issuing QR codes for 500 workers, Kommersant, April 15, 2020 [7]

See also

After the switch to remote applications, benefits are confirmed automatically if the data on them is available in the social protection service; the only thing required from the applicant is a photograph.[36]

Links

Sources

  1. Vremya N — Before the introduction of remote application, Nizhny Novgorod residents were required to apply in person at MFC offices or at the offices of the company Sitikard in order to obtain the discounted "Resident Card
  1. Zhivyom v Nizhnem — Before the introduction of online application, Nizhny Novgorod residents had to come in person to an MFC or to the offices of the company Sitikard and present b (archive)
  1. nn-card.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card — official project portal, "Resident Card" page (archive)
  2. s3.nn-card.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card — Project Rules (operator's document) — Rules of the "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" Project (archive)
  3. Vremya N — October 6, 2020 — The first partner banks have joined the "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" service (archive)
  4. V gorode N — March 30, 2020 — The "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" is being developed in the region for citizens under self-isolation (archive)
  5. RIA Novosti — April 2, 2020 — Residents of Nizhny Novgorod Region have been allowed to leave their homes using a QR code (archive)
  6. GIPERNN — April 17, 2020 — QR code for Nizhny Novgorod residents to leave their homes will become mandatory (archive)
  7. Kommersant (Volga Region) — Kommersant (Nizhny Novgorod) — April 15, 2020 — Enterprises get encoded (archive)
  8. V gorode N — April 4, 2020 — QR codes of the "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" may be dangerous (archive)
  9. nn.aif.ru — AiF Nizhny Novgorod — April 15, 2020 — Roskomnadzor will block clone sites of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card (archive)
  10. nn.aif.ru — AiF Nizhny Novgorod — April 16, 2020 — The "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" app is available again (archive)
  11. Kommersant (Volga Region) — Kommersant (Nizhny Novgorod) — August 16, 2021 — Gazprombank has begun issuing plastic "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Cards" (archive)
  12. Business News. Time to Earn — June 1, 2022 — Sber will connect schools to the "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" (archive)
  13. nobl.ru — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region — April 4, 2024 — Nizhny Novgorod Region becomes the first in the country to launch a virtual "Resident Card" (archive)
  14. nobl.ru — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region — August 6, 2024 — The Nizhny Novgorod Region government and VTB have agreed on the bank's joining the "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" project (archive)
  15. digital.nobl.ru — Ministry of Digital Development and Communications of Nizhny Novgorod Region — early 2025 — More than 207,000 citizens had become users of the "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" by early 2025 (archive)
  16. Vremya N — December 29, 2025 — More than 115,000 "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Cards" were issued in 2025 (archive)
  17. nobl.ru — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region — August 5, 2026 — More than 350,000 citizens had become users of the "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" by mid-2026
  18. Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — September 16, 2026 — The preferential "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" can now be ordered remotely (archive)
  19. nobl.ru — Government of Nizhny Novgorod Region — July 4, 2025 — Parents of Nizhny Novgorod first-graders can apply for a "Schoolchild Card" on the "Resident Card" portal before the start of the school year (archive)
  20. nn-card.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card — "Schoolchild Card" page — Nizhny Novgorod Region Schoolchild Card (archive)
  21. nn-card.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card — "Student Card" page — Nizhny Novgorod Region Student Card (archive)
  22. nn-card.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card — "Online Card" page (archive)
  23. Vremya N — July 7, 2026 — Sber expands the capabilities of the "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" (archive)
  24. siticard.ru — Siticard — "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" page (archive)
  25. siticard.ru — Siticard — cost of electronic travel passes, Nizhny Novgorod — Cost of electronic travel passes for your transport card (archive)
  26. nn-card.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card — "Intercom Key" page — your electronic key for the building entrance (archive)
  27. nn-card.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card — The cable car with the Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card (archive)
  28. minsocium.ru — Ministry of Social Policy of Nizhny Novgorod Region — "Victory Card" (archive)
  29. nn-card.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card — Special offers apply for holders of Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Cards when paying with a Mir card or via the Faster Payments System at project partners (archive)
  30. nn-card.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card — A universal key to city services (archive)
  31. s3.nn-card.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card — Project Development Strategy — Development Strategy of the "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" Project (archive)
  32. Business News. Time to Earn — August 6, 2024 — VTB has begun issuing the updated Nizhny Novgorod Region resident card
  33. nn-card.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card — The Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card will help visitors to the ice rink at the Nizhny Novgorod Yarmarka confirm their eligibility for a discount (archive)
  34. nn-card.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card — Holders of the "Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card" will be able to get extra savings on Torpedo hockey club merchandise! (archive)
  35. nn-card.ru — Nizhny Novgorod Region Resident Card — The "Resident Card" becomes an electronic intercom key in Nizhny Novgorod Region (archive)