OREANDA-NEWS. October 25, 2012. In mid-September, the Citadele Bank first offered its clients a chance to receive Citadele payment cards by mail anywhere in Latvia, and during the first month, the greatest number of applications for this new service have been received from people in Riga, Daugavpils and Bauska, reported the press-centre of Citadele Bank.

Clients can receive, by mail, new Maestro, VISA, Master Card and American Express payment cards without credit limits, as well as supplementary cards. Previously, applications to receive cards by mail could be submitted only at a Citadele Client Service Centre, but beginning today, the same can also be done via the bank’s Internet banking system. This means that clients can apply for and receive a card without ever having to actually visit the bank.

“As demand for distance services increases, we believe that the opportunity to receive a card by mail will be used in the next few months by 25% of all clients who apply for a new card, and a year from now, it may well be that one-half of our clients do so,” says Citadele board member Santa Purgaile. “The delivery of cards by mail is an interesting offer to people in Riga, who are always in a big hurry, as well as to clients in rural regions who will no longer have to travel to a town specifically to receive their cards.”

The director of the Bauska branch, Ermins Urtans, says that “so far those who have asked that a card be delivered to their home are people who live in surrounding areas such as the Vecumnieki or Iecava administrative districts. This is also a convenient service for working people in that they no longer have to come to the bank to receive a new card.”

Once a client has chosen to receive a card by mail, it is delivered within seven business days, and in two separate envelopes – the PIN number first, and then the card. The card which is received is inactive, and it can be activated only by its true owner, who must ring the Citadele Client Support Centre. Both the card and the PIN number are sent in special envelopes which allow the client to see whether they have been opened during the delivery process.