The Central Bank of Armenia prohibited the republic’s banks from working with Mir cards

From March 29, local banks in Armenia will be prohibited from working with the Russian payment system Mir. This decision was made by the Central Bank of the Republic due to the threat of credit institutions falling under American sanctions. About this on Tuesday, March 19, reported TASS is a high-ranking source in the banking sector of the republic.

“The Armenian processing center ArCa simultaneously processes Mir, Visa and Mastercard payments,” explained the expert, who wished to remain anonymous. — [Иностранные платежные системы] Visa and Mastercard refuse to work with a company that simultaneously services the sanctioned Mir. They have no right to work with ArCa in this case. Therefore, there is no other option but to ban Mir’s service, otherwise our country will be left without international cards.”

At the same time, the source emphasized that the Central Bank of Armenia will present the situation as a decision of private banks, so as not to “offend” Russia. The republic’s regulator did not officially comment on this information.

The National Payment Card System (NSCP), which is the operator of Mir cards, has already responded to the messages that appeared in the press. The organization emphasized that financial organizations abroad make decisions on the possible termination of accepting their cards independently.