In Armenia they refused to service the “World” card: the reasons and consequences are named

Armenian banks will stop servicing cards of the Russian payment system “Mir” from March 29. According to sources in financial circles in Yerevan, the leadership of the Central Bank of Armenia introduced a corresponding ban for banks in their country due to the threat of falling under secondary sanctions of the US Treasury. The Central Bank of Armenia itself refers to the decision of the country’s banks themselves. It is curious that at the same time on the other side of the world – in Cuba – they decided to make servicing Mir cards mandatory for all financial institutions in the country.

In February of this year, the United States introduced blocking sanctions against the National Payment Card System (NPC). At the time of the introduction of restrictions, Mir cards worked in 10 countries: Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, Venezuela, Vietnam, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Cuba, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Now Armenia falls out of this series. The regulator presents the abandonment of the payment system as an independent decision of private banks. According to some analysts, this explanation can be regarded as a desire “not to offend the Russian side.” In fact, without the introduction of this ban, the Armenian processing center would have lost the opportunity to interact with international Visa and Mastercard cards. Against this background, the leadership of the Central Bank of Armenia simply had no other options but to prohibit local financial institutions from accepting and servicing Mir cards – otherwise secondary sanctions would have been inevitable.

This is bad news for Russian tourists and travelers. After Russian Visa and Mastercard cards stopped working abroad, the national Mir card became their main card. However, problems are already arising with it. It is reported that local banks will not be able to withdraw cash from ATMs, and non-cash payments at POS terminals will become unavailable.

But there is also good news. Cuba, contrary to all sanctions, decided to make accepting cards of the Mir payment system a mandatory condition for the operation of any establishment on the island. Even though, as the Minister of Tourism of Liberty Island said, this requires reprogramming all POS terminals individually. According to him, “this is a rather lengthy procedure, but today there are already about 20 thousand points in the country where there are terminals that accept this card.”

In general, literally on the same day, different countries made completely polar decisions regarding the World cards. Which speaks to the exceptional politicization of this seemingly purely financial issue.

Financial analyst, Candidate of Economic Sciences Mikhail Belyaev also thinks the same.

“This is an absolutely political decision of the Armenian side for the sake of the “collective West,” he expressed his opinion to MK. – In particular, it cuts off the massive tourist flow to this country…

– What can you advise to guests from Russia who have already arrived or are just going to Armenia?

– You need to keep in mind that the funds on the card will remain, they will not go anywhere. It’s just that the card itself will be blocked in Armenia. But in other countries and, of course, in Russia, it will work. In this regard, you don’t have to worry about the safety of your funds and the possibility of withdrawing them.

As for our tourists, while they have time until March 29, they need to withdraw cash if there is such a need. Or transfer them to other accounts.

However, Yerevan’s decision concerns not only Russian tourists. Problems will also arise for relocants – those of our fellow citizens who are hiding in Armenia from being drafted into the army. And who are fed through the “World” card by parents or employers if they work remotely. Difficulties will also arise for the Armenian diaspora in Russia; it is quite large and influential.

– What, in your opinion, are the future prospects of the “World” card? How many countries will follow Armenia, and how many will follow Cuba, where, on the contrary, they were ordered to accept “Mir” in every financial institution?

– It’s difficult to predict anything here. Everything will depend on how close the political and economic ties between our countries are. Let’s say that if there is no massive flow of tourists, then there are no users of the “World” card. What is the point for the bank to start it and spend money? If there is no economic fulfillment of operations and profits, commercial banks will not keep additional staff for service.