CBR works on alternative payment system

The Central Bank of Russian Federation (CBR) is working on a new payment system for Russians, cooperating with foreign countries, including Turkey, alternative to Mir cards, CBR head Elvira Nabiullina said on Monday.

The exit of Visa and MasterCard from Russian market in 2022 caused an increase in the use of Russian Mir payment system in the country and abroad, especially by Russian tourists.

The US Treasury Department threatened foreign banks with secondary sanctions for servicing Mir cards 2022, making many countries refuse accepting them.

“That is why we are working with each of these countries bilaterally to devise other possibilities, not Mir cards. It will be cards of those countries, possibly prepaid cards,” Nabiullina added in CBR’s annual report.

The CBR is cooperating with national banks of those countries and will try to give access to Russian citizens to payments for goods and services abroad, Nabiullina added.