Banks participating in Armenia's ArCa payment system to halt servicing Mir cards as of March 30 - NPCS

MOSCOW. March 19 (Interfax) - Banks participating in Armenia's ArCa unified payment system will cease servicing Mir cards as of March 30, the press service of National Payment Card System (NPCS), the operator of Mir cards, said.

"NPCS has received official notification from Armenia's unified payment system that ArCa participating banks will cease servicing Mir cards as of March 30," NPCS said.

VTB Bank Armenia will continue servicing Russian cards.

"Mir cardholders with any Russian banks still have access to key services within the VTB Armenia infrastructure, namely cash withdrawals from the bank's ATMs and payment for services in online banking. Transfers are also available using VTB Armenia cards, including cross-border transfers," NPCS said.

There are currently 53 VTB branches operating in Armenia, with 22 located in Yerevan. Customers also have access to more than 190 ATMs throughout the country.

The Central Bank of Armenia, commenting on possible restrictions regarding the Mir system, told Interfax earlier that it was up to commercial banks in Armenia themselves to decide which payment systems to work with, based on their risk management strategy, including those related to sanctions. "As for customer services, commercial banks are obliged to properly inform their clients if the conditions of their service change," it said.

RBC had reported, quoting an official at VTB Armenia, that Mir cards would stop working in ATMs and POS terminals of most banks in Armenia from March 30, with the exception of the infrastructure of VTB Armenia itself.

The United States on February 23 imposed sanctions against the NPCS on February 23. The company said the sanctions would not affect the operations of Russian payment infrastructure. At the same time, it is up to foreign banks to decide whether to accept Mir cards in their infrastructure; there are no restrictions on the part of the payment system, NPCS said.

OFAC warned back in September 2022 that non-U.S. financial institutions entering into agreements with Russia's NPCS risked being involved in actions to circumvent U.S. sanctions by expanding the area of use of the Mir payment system outside Russia. NPCS then concealed the list of partner countries, and some banks stopped working with the payment system altogether.

As of early September 2022, Mir cards were accepted in 11 countries: Turkey, Vietnam, South Korea, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. In 2023, NPCS said Mir cards were being accepted in Cuba and Venezuela.