Foreign banks massively refuse the payment system “MIR”

Foreign banks massively refuse the payment system “MIR”

For several days now, news has been coming that another foreign bank has stopped accepting MIR cards. First, it was about the Turkish Denizbank and IŞ Bankası, next in line is the largest bank in Vietnam. From the unpleasant – the banks of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are also not happy with Russian cards.

As a reason, some vague “technical problems” are cited, but the reality is much banaler – banks are afraid of falling under secondary US sanctions. Working with the Russian payment system is becoming a big risk, which major players are not ready to take. There are small banks for which working with Russian cards can become a serious source of income, but there will not be so many of them, and most importantly, they usually do not have an extensive network of ATMs.

Now Russians are trying to say that it is a problem for small businesses and not a problem for Russian banking system

What’s next? First, the launch of new co-badged projects, for example, Russia with Turkey or other countries, is not excluded. Such plans really exist, the only question is their implementation and possible threats to local businesses. It is clear that for Turkey or Egypt, Russian tourists have always been a serious source of income, and the Turks did not hide their desire to become the “gateway to Russia” for all Western business. Erdogan’s government will certainly try to sit on two chairs.

And Russian tourists and “tourists” can only be advised to take cash with them and, if possible, cards from foreign banks, if any. It is now almost impossible to predict whether an ATM of a foreign bank will accept Russian cards.