Central Bank: issuance of Mir cards in 2022 increased by 60%

The issue of Mir payment system cards increased by 60% last year. The number of Mir cards issued by banks reached 182 million, reports TASS with reference to the Bank of Russia.

Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Olga Skorobogatova, speaking at a conference of the Association of Banks of Russia, clarified that the growth in issuance was organic and, most likely, will continue, because Russian banks will gradually replace cards of Visa and Mastercard payment systems, reports Frank Media. Ms. Skorobogatova added that the regulator expects the share of non-cash payments to grow to 80%.

Visa and Mastercard suspended work in Russia in the spring amid the imposition of sanctions. Cards of international payment systems issued by banks of the Russian Federation are not accepted abroad, and cards of foreign banks of these systems are not accepted in Russia. The Russian payment system “Mir” has become an alternative to cards that have left the market.

According to Bloomberg, in six of the nine countries in which the Mir system worked, banks refused to support it amid the threat of sanctions from the United States. Analysts of the agency consider the current situation a “collapse” and a failure of Russia’s attempt to create its own alternative to Visa and Mastercard in conditions of financial isolation.

Erdni Kagaltynov