The authorities in Moscow yesterday unveiled the prototype of the new Mir Russian national payment card that will go into mass production next year. Both Mastercard and Japan’s JCB have expressed an interest in issuing co-branded cards with the new system, according to Olga Skorobogatova, Deputy CEO of the Central Bank of Russia, which is also hoping to co-opt the payment systems of fellow BRICS member states as future partners.
The issue of the payment card is part of a wider initiative to create an autonomous financial system in Russia as an alternative to the international service provided by companies such as Visa and Mastercard, both of whom ceased processing card payments from customers of several Russian banks last year after the annexation of Crimea.
According to the Central Bank, 10 Russian banks are ready to issue the new card, including the sanctioned Bank Rossiya and some Crimea-based credit institutions.
Mastercard and JCB express interest in new Russian national payment card
Source: rbth