Russian Central Bank not yet ready to reduce stake in National Payment Card System

MOSCOW. Nov 10 (Interfax) - The Central Bank of Russia is not yet ready to reduce its stake in National Payment Card System (NPCS), but plans to return to this issue in two years, Central Bank First Deputy Governor Olga Skorobogatova told journalists on the sidelines of the Finopolis forum.

"Are other shareholders other than the Central Bank possible in NPCS? Item one, we believe, as we said earlier, it's not yet the time to make such decisions. But we will definitely be ready to return to this issue in two years," Skorobogatova said.

Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said last year that privatizing the NPCS on the horizon of two to three years would be inexpedient, as national tasks for developing digital infrastructure stand before it, although there has been interest from market players.

The NPCS is the operator of Mir cards and was created by the Russian authorities in 2014 after a number of Russian banks fell under United States sanctions and the international Visa and Mastercard payment systems, complying with U.S. demands, stopped servicing cards issued by these banks. The NPCS announced the start of issuance of the first Mir cards in December 2015.