VTB subsidiary bank in Kazakhstan started issuing plastic cards of the Russian payment system Mir. This was reported in the press service of the bank.
“In December last year, we presented Mir digital maps. Now we have started releasing them in plastic. The card will become indispensable for people traveling to Russia to study, work or for personal purposes,” the statement said (cited by T).
The bank emphasized that VTB Kazakhstan services both its own Mir cards and foreign ones. It will be possible to replenish it through self-service devices and bank cash desks, QIWI and Yurta terminals, as well as from your current account in VTB KZ Online. In addition, you can transfer money from another Mir card or a third-party bank account using details, including a foreign one.
It is clarified that using the Mir card, users will have the opportunity to make online purchases in Russian services and make payments in the VTB KZ Online mobile application. According to the director of the retail business department of VTB Kazakhstan Bank Stanislav Kozyakov, there is a stable demand for Mir cards in the republic, most often customers use them when traveling to Russia, paying for educational services, etc.
In early December 2022, the US Office of Foreign ets Control (OFAC) gave permission to Kazakh banks to carry out transactions with Mir payment cards. Then it was reported that banks would decide on connecting the Mir payment system on their own, based on their own development strategies.
Kazakhstan’s Halyk Bank stopped accepting Mir cards at the end of September 2022. This decision was made against the backdrop of a warning from the US Treasury about its readiness to impose sanctions for supporting the use of the Mir payment system outside of Russia. Several banks in Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Tajikistan also refused to work with the Russian payment system.