15 Sep 2022 12:57

More than 145 mln Mir cards issued to date - National Payment Card System chief

YEKATERINBURG. Sept 15 (Interfax) - More than 145 million Mir cards have been issued to date, Vladimir Komlev, head of National Payment Card System (NSPK), said during a conference in Yekaterinburg devoted to non-financial services and the Mir payment system in the framework of regional social and campus projects.

Mir cards had a substantial market share and many had been issued by the end of last year, but events after February 24 prompted more Russians to move to Russian payment means, he said.

"Of course, the departure of international payment systems further stimulated the development of the national payment card by natural means. More than 145 million cards have been issued to date. This is a very significant increase, by high percentages, in the share of Russian retail non-cash turnover using Mir cards," Komlev said.

He said the Mir payment system was aiming for even more dynamic, progressive development.

Komlev said that cards of all international payment systems that had left Russia would continue to be processed through the NSPK. "Now there is a smooth evolutionary process of replacing some cards with cards of the Mir payment system. This is a normal process [. . .] We will definitely not have any glitches," he said.

Komlev said several Russian manufacturers had offered to start making ATMs. "We certainly back this initiative. This is probably not a very straightforward process. But I don't think that any problems with the ATMs Russia already are being anticipated. In general, an ATM, as a means of withdrawing cash is becoming more and more a thing of the past, the need for them is diminishing," he said.

NSPK, the Mir card operator, was set up in 2014 after sanctions were imposed against Russia. The first Mir cards were issued in December 2015.