Cards on the table

On the night of March 6, Visa and MasterCard simultaneously announced the suspension of work in Russia. What to do and how to be with it

Will Visa and MasterCard cards work in Russia?

If they are issued by Russian banks - yes, says the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Transactions will be processed through the Russian national payment cards system. Full functionality is preserved - operations at ATMs, payments, transfers from card to card. But, after their validity is over, the new Visa and MasterCard cards are not yet able to issue Russian banks.

The national payment cards system (NSPK) was created in 2014 to serve bank payments in Russia, after Visa and MasterCard ceased to accept cards of banks that fell under sanctions.

Visa and Mastercard cards issued by foreign banks will not work in Russia. The VISA payment system will stop receiving the authorization of Russian banks from 00:01 Moscow time on March 10. But it’s better not to wait.

Will it be possible to pay in Russia with these cards the purchase of goods and services abroad?

No. Cross -border operations on VISA and MasterCard cards will not be available. This applies both to payment of purchases in foreign online stores, and using these cards abroad.

Will it be possible to use Visa and MasterCard issued by Russian banks abroad?

No, they will stop working.

This is a problem for owners of Russian cards abroad. According to the Association of Tour operators of Russia, at least 150 thousand Russian tourists are now abroad.

It is better for them to be ready for this at any moment, do not take risks, remove cash at the first affordable ATM.

Do not pay attention to possible commissions - in this situation it is now important to maintain your money and the opportunity to pay them. You can pay for housing or aviation tickets.

Will the Apple Pay and Google Pay wallets work?

No. But there is a Russian analogue - Mir Pay, it works on Android.

By the way, about the map "Mir". In what countries is it accepted?

Türkiye, Vietnam, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. This is the official information of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

Are sanctions against the Mir system possible in these countries?

Now it is impossible to say confidently about this, but theoretically this is possible. As they say, this is an “evaluative judgment”.

What is the Mir card?

The first Mir cards were issued at the end of 2015, the authorities decided to use only them for payments from the budget.

According to the NSPK, as of January 1, 2020, about 95 million cards have been issued from the beginning of the emission to Russians. In 2021, the “Mir National Map” last year was the main one for more than 40% of Russians. However, they spent less on this card than users of foreign payment systems. The largest percentage of the owners of Mir cards as the main one is in the elderly population (67%). In total, 87% of the Russia's adult population are holders of bank cards.

But what to do?

There are cobuding cards "Mir" and the Chinese UnionPay system. They should be accepted both in Russia and in 180 countries that support work with Union Pay. In September 2021 in Russia, Union Pay released 4 million cards. At the beginning of 2022, in Russia, Unionpay cards are accepted by more than 95% of POS terminals and ATMs. Over 1.6 million POS-terminals are accepted by UnionPay cards with the technology of contactless payment of QuickPass.

What other problems arise here?

The fact is that in the sense of “non -cash payments”, Russia until recently developed rapidly, and “Russian fintech” was rightly considered one of the best in the world. And the fee for the use of “card services” was constantly reduced, the payments commissions remained completely insignificant - which was stimulated by the competition of payment systems.

Now the situation will change. Both the Mir system and the Chinese Unionpay are monopolists.

Who and why did you need the "world"?

In 2021, analysts of the Center for Research on Financial Technology and the Skolkovo-Rash digital economy conducted a study, and found out that

Of the 42% of Russians for whom the Mir card is the main one, 84% issued it to receive social benefits, 40% - for salary, 34% for personal purposes.

Among those who evaluate their financial situation as high, the Mir card owned 33% of respondents. Among people with high material wealth, those who can afford to buy a refrigerator, TV, furniture, but not a car, were included.

Among the respondents who reported that they “have enough money for products and clothes, but buying a refrigerator, TV and furniture is a problem” Mir owners were 39%. Among those who “have enough money to whom only for products or there is not enough for anything” the Mir card had 57% of respondents.

But while the Mir map will be needed by everyone. And what will you do with her is another story.