Victoria Ciornîi: the maib liber card – pay in installments, open it fully digital, no bank visit needed

An interview with Victoria Ciornîi, Product Owner on the consumer lending team maib

#INTERVIEW

Hello Victoria! I still remember my first experience with maib liber very well. It was right at the beginning of our collaboration with maib – I opened the card to write an article and ended up using it for a long time. It was convenient to pay in installments for various purchases. What has changed since then? The product certainly hasn't stayed the same…

You’d be right. Products evolve alongside customer needs. Maib liber was launched for the first time in 2019. Back then, it was in a much more traditional format – the client received a physical card and could use the associated credit line.

Over time though, the pace of life has picked up. We realized, including through surveys, that people need solutions available on the spot. A spontaneous purchase can’t wait until you make it to a bank branch.

So what solution did you come up with?

We made maib liber fully digital. Now, everything happens directly in the maibank app. In just a few minutes, the card is available on your phone.

Right after activation, your digital card can be added to Google Pay or Apple Pay, and customers can start shopping right away.

In the app, you can see everything clearly – how much you’ve spent, your remaining available balance, the payment schedule, and when your first installment is due. Everything is laid out clearly and right at your fingertips.

But what about the core of the maib liber card? Its main appeal was the ability to shop in installments with zero interest…

That principle remains unchanged: 0% annual interest and zero fees. The cardholder pays nothing extra. Installments can be spread over 2, 3 or 6 months and, in many cases, even up to 12 months.

The idea is simple: you buy today and pay gradually. At the same time, the bank transfers the full amount to the merchant immediately, which is why the model works well for both partners and customers.

Speaking of partners, back when I was using the card, the list was already huge. How does it look now?

Today, the maib liber network includes around 2,300 partners and over 6,000 points of sale across the country.

In the app, you can easily check out all these locations, organized by category: shopping, pharmacy, travel, services and others. You open the app and immediately see where you can pay with your maib liber card.

For some partner companies, working with maib liber has driven sales growth of up to 20%, which shows the value this product brings to the entire ecosystem.

If you were to highlight the main advantages of the new maib liber for our readers, what would they be?

First, instant access. If you need the card, you can open it directly in maibank, exactly when you need it. After activation, you can use it immediately. The whole process takes only a few minutes.

Second, full control over spending and flexible repayment. The cardholder can clearly see how much they still owe and can make early repayments if they choose. After each monthly payment, the amount paid becomes available again for future purchases.

And the third aspect is accessibility. After relaunching the product on October 30, 2025, we revised the eligibility criteria to make maib liber relevant to a wider range of customers. We can now offer it to freelancers, content creators, independent consultants and other professionals. It’s an important step towards a more diverse customer base, including younger audiences.

What is the maximum limit available?

The limit ranges from 3,000 to 50,000 MDL. You don’t need to use the full amount in a single transaction. In fact, 3,000 MDL is the minimum limit that can be opened, and the customer only uses what they need at that moment. For example, you could make a purchase at a supermarket for 300–500 MDL, and installment payments will work for smaller amounts like that as well.

An essential question for those who sometimes lose track of due dates. What happens if a payment is made a few days late?

In that case, a late fee applies. However, we try to prevent such situations by sending customers timely reminders.

The main rule of maib liber is simple: if you repay the amount used on time, the card remains completely free to use. And now any maib customer can take advantage of this solution without ever setting foot in a branch.