Most Kazakh banks not servicing Russian Mir cards due to sanctions

ASTANA. April 3 (Interfax) - A number of Kazakh banks have stopped servicing Russia's Mir bank cards due to sanctions, while partial service is still provided by VTB Bank and Bereke Bank, Interfax correspondents reported.

"No, they have been sanctioned. Don't even try to find banks in Kazakhstan, these are not our sanctions, the Mir card has been sanctioned for Kazakhstan," the CenterCredit Bank call center told Interfax.

Halyk Bank, Forte, Nurbank and others are not servicing Russian cards either.

"No, transfers cannot be made because of the sanctions," Forte said.

VTB said in turn that its ATMs could be used to withdraw money from Mir cards but only in the national currency.

"If you have a Mir card, you can withdraw money from our ATMs but only in tenge," the VTB Bank call center said.

Bereke Bank said cards remained valid for ATMs and terminals, but transfers were unavailable.

"We are not working with the Mir payment system now. I mean the cards we had can still be used in our ATMs and POS terminals, payments can be made. However, transfers from other banks to Mir cards are not available," the Bereke Bank call center said.

Interfax also asked the Kazakh National Bank for comment on declined services for Russian Mir cards via the national systems, as it previously happened in Kyrgyzstan. The regulator has yet to respond to Interfax's inquiry.

On February 23, 2024, the United States imposed sanctions on the Russian National Payment Card System, the operator of the Mir payment system. The company said the sanctions would have no effect on the operation of Russian payment infrastructure. However, foreign banks make independent decisions on whether to accept Mir cards in their infrastructure.

It was announced on Tuesday that Kyrgyzstan's national payment system would stop servicing Mir cards on April 5.