Abstract. The article is devoted to the problems of complex evaluation of the efficiency of international and national card payment systems (CPS). The assessment provides an opportunity not only to identify problems and threats to the CPS, but also to identify areas for further improvement. The effective functioning of the card payment system at the level of individual entities can provide a positive integral effect for the whole society. The article analyzes the world experience in this field, examines the approaches to evaluation used in various countries, as well as the prospects of using the considered approaches and methods in the Russian practice. The author considers the main subjects of the card payment system, their specific evaluation requirements and the corresponding sets of parameters. The author’s approach to the definition of the integral social effect of the CPS is proposed. The optimal approach to the assessment, according to the author, is to calculate the main economic indicators of the system using all available techniques and obtain a comprehensive assessment. Comparison of different methods allows more reasonable calculations of the integral effect of the implementation. The economic efficiency of a CPS is assessed at all stages of its formation and operation: at the pre-project stage, the cash flows of the project are preliminary projected, then during the design process, the forecasts are refined, finally, at the stages of implementation and operation, the actual economic effect is determined. To assess the effectiveness of card payment systems from the standpoint of the integral social effect, it is proposed to use the following criteria: social costs of payment transactions, efficiency of retail payments, correct and complex processing of transactions, minimization of systemic financial risks. In the course of the assessment it is necessary to economically justify the calculations for all items of direct and indirect costs and revenues of the CPS. Economic efficiency should be calculated using common quantitative indicators in statics and dynamics. Assessment of the economic efficiency of the CPS is a complex analytical procedure. It should be carried out taking into account the specifics of bank finance, public finance and financing of projects in the field of information technology.