Ieva Zvīdre, Press Secretary of the State Police

As strange as it may sound, cards seemed very attractive to me as soon as they appeared because of two aspects. When I run out of cash, the wallet is empty, whereas it is not that obvious that a card is empty, and one always have the feeling that there is money or that it will soon be there.

Secondly, when travelling abroad, a card raises my self-consciousness because, unlike many post-soviet tourists, I don’t have to carry with me large wallets with banknotes tied with an elastic band; I don’t need to take my packet of cash with me in bed at night, being afraid that somebody might steal it. A card is also a guarantee of my security because I’ve been in the status of a robbed person; however, my card was blocked and all my money remained in the account and nobody could lay their hands on it.