Currently, it can be argued without a doubt that digitalization is penetrating into all areas of our life

There are 8 sectors of the economy that are changing the most under the influence of digitalization:

• Banking: a significant proportion of banking operations can be carried out online;
• Retail: is seeing widespread changes in online consumer preferences over offline shopping;
• Government administration: obtaining certificates, registering transactions, etc. can be done remotely using an EDS;
• Education: Online education is growing by 10 percent a year;
• Marketing: a significantly larger number of online platforms appear that can be used to promote goods and research consumer preferences;
• Energy: smartgrid networks, ASKUEE systems (billions of rubles are allocated for network digitalization programs);
• Transportation: Taxi ordering apps have supplanted traditional ways of ordering such as phone calls;
• Healthcare: modern methods of digital diagnosis and treatment of diseases significantly improve patient recovery rates.

Undoubtedly, this list is not exhaustive, but it is quite representative.

At the same time, it should be noted that Russia is still far from the level of developed countries in terms of the degree of digitalization.

In terms of the GCI index , which is a composite indicator that reflects the status of countries in the development of the digital economy and is determined by the level of investment, implementation experience and potential in building an appropriate ICT infrastructure, Russia lags behind developed countries by 5-7 years.

The main prerequisites for the transition to the digital economy are: the development of physical infrastructure and access to the Internet; growth in the number of Internet users, the development of e-commerce, the development of the country’s IT industry as a whole, the development of the national e-government system.

In the transition to the digital economy, the determining and most significant factors – “ components of success ” are:

• Formation of research competencies and technical groundwork;
• Creation of a regulatory framework for the implementation, development and regulation of the digital economy;
• Training of new specialists and provision of highly qualified personnel;
• Supply of information infrastructure, which includes hardware,
• Software, telecommunications;
• Ensuring information security of personal data of the population and preserving the integrity and sovereignty of the state.

Business digitalization

Platform technologies combine the benefits of economies of scale with an individual approach to each client, thereby providing a speed and cost advantage by eliminating middlemen.

At the same time, the introduction of digital methods into the management practice of a company requires a radical restructuring of the entire management system. It is necessary to bring all elements of the company’s internal environment and, first of all, the strategy and culture in line with the stage of its life cycle, otherwise digitalization only reinforces the existing management defects.

Credit cards

For the first time, credit cards in their modern form were invented in the United States by the founder of the Diner’s Club,  Frank McNamar, and were first issued by the restaurant chain as a means of payment in 14 New York restaurants.

The first public credit cards were issued in 1958 by Bank of America (BoA) . These credit cards were called
BankAmericard   and were made from hard paper. 

Real plastic credit cards were also issued by
American Express  in 1958. The same company then issued anodized titanium credit cards. This card was officially named Centurion (better known as the “ black card ”).