Issue of bringing back UnionPay payment system to Russia under discussion - VTB head

MOSCOW. April 24 (Interfax) - The issue of bringing back the UnionPay payment system to service Russian clients is being discussed, VTB CEO Andrei Kostin said during a meeting with clients of VTB Private Banking.

UnionPay is one of the largest payment systems in China. UnionPay cards allow payments for goods and services, as well as cash withdrawals, in more than 150 countries around the world.

"If UnionPay agreed to service our clients, and we had such a system developed, even in the early years of sanctions, when the Chinese had not yet refused, it was possible to pay with UnionPay cards in Italy [for example]. This is now a question, it is being discussed, including with several of our friendly countries about bringing it back," Kostin said.

The return of Visa and Mastercard payment systems, in his opinion, is only possible in the context of the overall lifting of sanctions. "I think that even if sanctions are lifted, this will not be the first thing. I would not count on that yet. Perhaps, at some stage, we might be able to return to UnionPay - that would certainly be progress," he said.

Previously, more than 10 Russian credit organizations were involved in the issuance of UnionPay cards. After most of them were sanctioned by the United States, only two banks remain that continue to issue cards - Russian Agricultural Bank and Asian-Pacific Bank (APB).

International payment systems Visa and Mastercard announced a suspension of operations in the Russian market in March 2022 due to the conflict in Ukraine. Within Russia, Mastercard and Visa cards from Russian banks continue to operate, as transactions for them have been processed by the National Payment Card System since 2015.