Cuba could adopt a payment system using Russian cards

Russian banking authorities reported this Monday that Cuba could be one of the countries implementing the “Mir” payment system. This allows tourists from this country to use the National Payment Card System (NSPK) cards on the island.

First Vice-President of the Central Bank of Russia Olga Skorobogatova made the announcement aimed at bypassing the US and European blockade on the transactions of the main Russian banks after the invasion of Ukraine.

“There are several countries that would like to cooperate with us. For example, Cuba is one of the latest projects we are currently working on. In other words, our citizens can use the Mir card in Cuba,” Skorobogatova assured during a speech in the State Duma (lower house of parliament).

Before the announcement, the Minister of Tourism at the Cuban Embassy in Russia, Juan Carlos Escalona, ​​assured that the operation of the “Mir” cards will be of great importance for the reopening of this market on the island.

For the past two years, Russian tourism has been the lifeline of the Cuban government amid declines in Canada and Europe. During this period, there were regular direct flights by several airlines between Moscow and the main Cuban tourist centers. However, the invasion of Ukraine cut off the growing influx and jeopardized the recovery of the sector in the Antilles nation.

Russian payment card

In late February, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada blocked Russian banks’ access to the SWIFT global financial transaction system. This deals a heavy blow to the Russian economy, which has lost touch with thousands of world institutions.

The “Mir” system is similar to the Visa and MasterCard payment methods. Its conception and implementation in 2014 was part of an ambitious Russian financial project to establish an independent system.

Users of the «Mir» card, which can be translated as world or peace in Spanish, can pay for services in countries such as Turkey, Vietnam, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan. The design and programming of this system is completely Russian as it uses its own algorithms.