The day before, we talked about the plans of Russia and Iran to transfer monetary calculations between the countries into stablecoins secured by the gold and foreign exchange reserve. In the article we mentioned that the states are negotiating the mutual use of payment systems – the Iranian “Shetab” and the domestic “World”. In a big interview with the Parliamentary Newspaper, Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, said that cobaging cards (approx. – cards supporting several payment systems) are planned to be released by the end of this year. At the same time, he also stressed two fundamental points: firstly, the new compatible payment method will be “adjusted” to Russian standards, since the national payment system presents more technological opportunities for the holder than Shetab. Secondly, in the conditions of modern economic tension, the mutual application of systems should be introduced as soon as possible.
“As for the financial sector, the joint use of Mir and Shetab has indeed been discussed. Our national payment system is more technologically advanced, at the level of world standards, if not the best in terms of the opportunities that people who use this card receive. We agreed that the maps of our countries should be technically and legally compatible. We hope that this year our card will be actively used on the territory of Iran,” Anatoly Aksakov said.
In the same interview, the head of the profile committee noted that the possibility of “technical and legal compatibility of maps” was discussed during the visit of the Russian parliamentary delegation to Tehran on January 23-24. This means that the domestic payment system is regarded by politicians as one of the tools for building partnerships with other countries.
What is the “Mir” in general? Payment cards of this system are leaders in Russia in terms of the number of users: according to 2021, 42% of holders of non-cash payment methods were its owners; last year this number only increased due to the refusal of a number of foreign payment systems to continue cooperation with Russian banks. In fact, the popularity of the “Mir” is connected not so much with the consequences of sanctions, as with budget payments to pensioners, students and employees of budgetary institutions credited to the card of this PS. Its operator is JSC “National Payment Card System” (controls all banking transactions carried out with payment cards in Russia), which, firstly, contributes to the spread of the national payment system, and, secondly, provides additional support to users in various plans. The presence of the Mir card among many users is confirmed by relatively recent analytics from the popular Wildberries marketplace in Russia – it is with the use of this PS that most online purchases are made.
However, it is somewhat erroneous to think that the “National Payment Card System” supports payment with its card only on the territory of Russia – there are a number of types of payment transactions that vary depending on the partner country. Mir often works on “part-time” payment systems (if there is an agreement between Russia and the countries on their mutual use; this practice differs from the conditions that are planned with Shetab). According to this principle, payment with the Mir card is carried out in Belarus, Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan (not in all banks). In other cases, non-cash payment is accepted in a limited format: for example, making purchases on the largest trading platforms in China or vice versa, its use only in terminals – as in the case of the UAE, the Republic of Korea, Cyprus, etc. The geography of agreements on the use of the ” Mir” for various operations continues to expand. The day before, for example, it became known about Uzbekistan’s intentions to return to servicing the payment system, which was discontinued in 2022 (approx. – only cards that were issued abroad). This was announced by the chairman of the Board of the Central Bank of the country Mamarizo Nurmuratov.
“Our banks do not leave this issue… If possible, they are doing everything to create conditions [for the resumption of card service],” RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.
Стикеры для бесконтактной оплаты покупок
Finally, the advantage of Mir lies in its constant technological development, despite global economic challenges and the widespread use of the most popular payment alternatives when leaving. Several domestic banks (“Sber”, “Tinkoff” and “Alfa-Bank”) have already announced the creation of special stickers for smartphones replacing contactless payment methods. Andrey Kovrigin, a representative of the National Payment Card System, told about one of these technologies during a seminar of the ARB (Association of Russian Banks).
“The National Payment Card System (NSPK) has developed the possibility of contactless payment for goods at the cash desks of retail outlets using “payment plates”: they allow you to pay for purchases both using NFC (by attaching a smartphone with the SBPei application) and using a QR code,” the association said in a statement.
Despite the fact that Mir is not the only payment system available on the territory of Russia (we work with a number of countries on the principle of mutual systems; do not forget about the Chinese UnionPay), it continues to be the most in demand – and not least a large number of users are associated with state support provided in favor of this PS. In addition, this means, for example, investing in projects for the development of the system, the production of cards for payment using only domestic chips (i.e. the product will be little affected by anti-Russian sanctions), etc. All this also points to the continued development of non-cash payment methods in Russia and their comfort.
The author of the article is Sofia Chernopyatova
