Among the squadron of sanctions sent by the West against Russia, there is one that, announced over the weekend, shakes up the daily life of Russians. On Saturday, two global bank card giants, Visa and Mastercard, announced they were suspending their operations in the country. Thus, not a single bank card issued by one of the two operators by a Russian bank will work abroad, and, conversely, these foreign cards will not be able to make purchases in Russia.
If in the first salvo of international sanctions Visa and Mastercard, as well as their rival American Express, have already announced measures to prevent Russian banks from using their networks, then this latest weapon is of deep concern to Russians, for whom the world closes the door. a little more every day.
“If I need to buy an international airline ticket, I will probably have to use Visa or Mastercard. It will be impossible to pay with these cards. If the airline allows payment with MIR or Union Pay cards, I can buy it. But it is clear that I cannot make many purchases in many international online marketplaces if they do not allow you to pay with these cards,” Sasha*, a Muscovite who asked to remain anonymous, explains to La Tribune.
In other words, for Russians, online shopping on foreign sites is becoming almost impossible. PayPal’s payment solution has also just been suspended in Russia.
“I’m not sure that online shopping abroad will be good due to possible delays in delivery…,” this Muscovite tries to soften.
As a result, Sasha is looking for alternatives:
“I got a call from a Russian bank specializing in agriculture about issuing a JCB-MIR card (JCB is a Japanese credit card company, ed.).” The operator indicates that they will receive a commission for a new debit card from 7000 to 9000 rubles! (from 47 to 61 euros, approx. ed.) Therefore, I refused. This is madness! Maybe another bank would offer a lower fee… And then JCB, being Japanese, might decide to join the sanctions,” he says.
Autonomy of Internet banking “Mir”
Other than withdrawing cash (or depositing money in cryptocurrencies), another solution is to go through the Russian system developed since 2014 and the first sanctions. Since 2015, thanks to this system called Mir, “transactions (…) are processed on the territory of Russia in the national payment card system (NSPK),” Russian companies competing with American giants recalled on Sunday.
According to her, more than 100 million Mir cards have been issued over the past seven years. Entire segments of the population are already obliged to have them: pensioners, for example, are obliged to do this in order to receive a pension, as well as employees of state budgetary bodies.
Upon the expiration of the Visa and Mastercard cards in circulation, NSPK clarified that “the bank that issued it will carry out a scheduled re-issuance of a new card based on the Mir payment system.”
But Mir has a size limit: it has only spread to a few countries. Apart from Russia, Turkey, Vietnam, Armenia and a few others, there is no escape.
“Since I already have a MIR card, I can make payments in some countries such as Turkey and Vietnam if necessary. But withdrawing money from the MIR card in France or the USA will not work. Chinese Union Pay would be the only option for a plastic card in the EU,” explains Muscovite La Tribune.
Also, Russian banks are trying to put forward arguments to their customers to keep them from turning to other proposals:
“From today, all cards of the Russian Agricultural Bank (RSHB), all payment systems will work indefinitely. Our cards have been automatically renewed. Now customers no longer need to read the date on the map. You can continue to use your bank cards throughout Russia until the plastic expires, ”the RSHB said in a statement.
Chinese solution
Since 2014 and the sanctions against the Putin regime, economic and political relations between Moscow and Beijing have strengthened significantly. So much so that in the context of a general slowdown in exports, exports from China to Russia increased sharply.
Chinese exports to Russia are growing rapidly: “Prospects for future cooperation are huge” (Beijing)
So Russian banks have set their sights on UnionPay, the Chinese leader in bank cards founded in 2002.
Based in Shanghai, the company claims that 170 million cards issued abroad are accepted in 180 countries and regions, including France.
In Russia, establishments are turning to the solution. Starting with the first bank in the country: “Sberbank is exploring the possibility of issuing Mir-UnionPay co-branded cards,” the number one in the industry explained.
She is not the only one. According to Russian news agencies, Rosbank, Tinkoff-Bank, Raiffeisen and MKB have indicated that they are also working on this file.
Towards a Chinese cross-border interbank system?
Visa and Mastercard cards issued by Russian banks will remain in Russia and will continue to operate normally in the territory until their expiration date. “Transactions with these cards are administered by the national system of bank cards and sanctions do not apply to them,” the Bank of Russia said.
Sberbank also stated in its Telegram account that the Visa and Mastercard cards it issued “can be used for operations in Russia — for withdrawing money, making transfers using a card number, as well as for settlements on the spot or online in Russian stores.” “.
However, the central bank has advised Russians traveling abroad to carry cash or a Russian Mir bank card in the few countries or territories where it is accepted.
Finally, with the exclusion from the Swift system of seven banks that have disconnected from the international financial system as of March 12 (VTB, Otkritie Bank, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Bank of Russia, Sovcombank and VEB), Russia may turn even more towards its Asian neighbor. . China has its own cross-border interbank payment system (CIPS), which operates exclusively in yuan.
(with AFP)
Ukraine: EU excluded seven Russian banks from the Swift network, Gazprom and Sberbank spared
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Sasha*: The name was changed voluntarily in order to preserve anonymity in the context of a new law in Russia promulgated on Friday, March 4, which makes it a criminal offense to disseminate certain information or opinions.
(with AFP)
Jeanne Dussay
March 09, 2022, 07:04