While the use of Visa and Mastercard is blocked in Russia, Russians are paying through state-run payment agencies (NSPK), indicating that there is no problem in using the two credit cards in their country.
NSPK has issued a state-run card, “Mir Card,” but it still has a high share of visas and master cards in Russia. According to the Nielsen report, there were 199 million visas and master cards registered in Russia at the end of 2020.
The demand for mircards that can be used outside Russia has recently increased due to restrictions on overseas use of visas and master cards.
As of 2020, 40% of Russians are using NSPK Mir cards, and demand for applications has more than doubled compared to the same period last year between January and this month-on-year.
The countries where Mir cards are approved are Turkey, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kirkystan, and Tajikistan, most of which are former Soviet Union countries.
According to Tars News Agency, Russian high-ranking officials have been negotiating for several days to expand Mircard’s approval to Venezuela and Iran. As visa and master cards are restricted from being used outside Russia, NSPK Mir cards are being pushed as an alternative.
According to the WSJ, the Russian central bank is also seeking cooperation with UnionPay, a state-run credit card company jointly invested by 88 Chinese banks.
Citing anonymous sources, the WSJ explained that before Visa and MasterCard withdrew, executives were concerned that sanctions would increase MirCard’s share.
On the 25th, Apple and Google payment services announced that they would stop supporting MirCard.
