The number of purchases of virtual tourist SIM cards (eSIM) through mobile banking apps increased by 2.5 times in May compared to April 2026. The surge in demand occurred during the May holidays, according to this travel eSIM eSIM.World store (available to TASS).
Compared to last year, the demand for eSIM for travel to China (+12%), Uzbekistan (+3%), Armenia (+3%) and Japan (+2.5%) increased most notably. Meanwhile, the number of purchases for travel to Thailand (-13%) and the United Arab Emirates (-5%) fell.
As the service’s analytics shows, the choice of package duration depends on the direction. The 30-day fare is more common for travel to Turkey (25%), China (14%) and Thailand (11%). 14-day packages are most in demand for Vietnam (13.4%), and short 1-3-day packages are needed for Kazakhstan (7%) and Armenia (9%). Unlimited fares are most often purchased for travel to Turkey (23%), China (18%), Egypt (6%), Kazakhstan (5%) and Uzbekistan (4%).
Analysts expect product demand to continue to grow during the summer vacation season. According to their information, virtual SIM cards were most frequently purchased for travel to Turkey (26% of all purchases), China (16%), Thailand and Egypt (6% each), Vietnam (5.5%) and Kazakhstan (4%). Service for the purchase of tourist eSIM in mobile applications of banks from eSIM.World is available to customers of Alfa-bank, Bank PSB, RSHB (Russian Agricultural Bank), "Bank Primorje" and Metalinvest Bank.
Information source "TASS": https://tass.ru/ekonomika/27712789
The image was taken from the official website of the news edition "Russian Newspaper": https://rg.ru/2023/11/01/virtualnaia-sim-karta-chto-o-nej-nuzhno-znat-i-kak-ee-ustanovit.html?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F