The world rejects "Mir" - Newspaper Kommersant No. 173 (7374) of 09/20/2022

The world rejects "Mir" - Newspaper Kommersant No. 173 (7374) of 09/20/2022



As Kommersant expected, a number of Turkish banks stopped accepting Mir cards. This happened after sharp statements by the US and the European Union, warning against working with the payment system. Experts believe that in the CIS countries where Mir cards are accepted, the reaction will not be so quick and tough, and Russian tourists visiting Turkey will find a way out of the situation.

Turkish and Russian news agencies reported that at least two Turkish banks that previously accepted cards of the Mir payment system stopped working with it. As reported "RIA News" in the Is bankasi help center, “On September 16, a decision was made to terminate the service of Mir cards”, the DenizBank customer support service stated that “operations with the Mir card and those related to the Russian currency are not carried out in the bank, cards are not accepted by ATMs ". The Mir payment system only noted that "foreign partners themselves decide to open an infrastructure for accepting Russian cards, their acceptance and service in a particular country will depend on the position of the credit institutions themselves."

Based on Is bankasi's comment, it turns out that the decision to stop working with Mir cards was made immediately after the next round of US sanctions against the Russian Federation. In particular, Vladimir Komlev, head of the National Payment Card System (NSPK, operator of the Mir system), was included in the US SDN list. At the same time, the US Treasury warned that it was not advisable to cooperate with the Russian system, as financial institutions "risk supporting Russia's efforts to circumvent US sanctions" (see. "Kommersant" from September 16). The Financial Times reported late last week that the US was focusing on Turkish banks, with Brussels preparing a delegation to express its concerns directly to Turkish officials.

Turkey is the most popular foreign destination for Russian travelers. The local Ministry of Tourism for January-June recorded 2.2 million tourist visits from Russia, which is 41.4% higher year-on-year. Only the flow to Turkey from Germany turned out to be more significant - 3 million visits, an increase of 37%.

Representatives of the tourist industry interviewed by Kommersant have not yet observed mass problems of tourists using Mir cards. At the same time, according to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), the number of shops and ATMs accepting cards is decreasing, transactions on them are being rejected. In one of the terminals of the Antalya airport, since Sunday, only the Halkbank ATM has been issuing lira on Mir cards (in the other, everything is still working). The representative of the tour operator Intourist, Daria Domostroeva, notes that tourists are advised to take a supply of cash (dollars, euros) with them. ATOR notes that it is also possible to change cash rubles in Turkey, but the exchange rate will not always be profitable.

Ms. Domostroyeva doubts that even a complete cessation of support for Mir cards will lead to a decrease in tourist flow, since "Russians actively travel to the UAE and Egypt, where the system is not supported at all."

In addition, Roman Prokhorov, head of the board of the Financial Innovations Association, notes that “those who have the opportunity to visit not very friendly countries have long acquired cards of international payment systems issued by banks in other states.”

Chairman of the Board of the National Payments Council Alma Obaeva draws attention to the fact that the situation in Turkey is quite unique, “there is no such pressure on other countries, but if there is, then the question is which bowl will outweigh the benefit of settlements for these banks with Russian cards or the problems that may arise for business with the West.” According to a Kommersant source in the payment market, the US Treasury explained that foreign banks should monitor whether the cards they service are issued by banks under sanctions. “This is a labor-intensive process, so some decide simply not to work with maps of high-risk countries,” says a Kommersant source. He admits that “after the announcement of a warning to Turkish financial institutions, their colleagues in other countries will prefer to preventively limit the acceptance of Mir cards.” Roman Prokhorov believes that the banks of the CIS countries are unlikely to take drastic steps, given the significantly higher level of involvement in financial cooperation with Russia. But for possible new counterparties of the Mir system, in his opinion, the actions of Turkish banks, "most likely, will serve as an incentive to 'take a break'."

Maxim Builov, Ksenia Dementieva, Alexandra Mertsalova



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