Russia2015-12 (first cards) / 2017-05-01 (law formalized)

Mir

Mir (Мир) National Card Payment System

🇷🇺 RussiaRUB (Russian Ruble)

IssuerNational Payment Card System (NSPK) - subsidiary of Bank of RussiaVisit issuer →

Payment Types

Credit cardsDebit cardsPrepaid cardsContactless payments (NFC via Mir Pay)Online paymentsATM withdrawalsGovernment salary/pension payments

Key Features

Russia's national card payment scheme
Replaced Visa/Mastercard for domestic transactions after 2022 sanctions
Mir Pay contactless wallet (replaced Apple Pay/Google Pay)
Government salary and pension payments mandated on Mir
International acceptance limited: Belarus, Abkhazia, South Ossetia core; some acceptance in Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Cuba, Venezuela
US Treasury threatened secondary sanctions on foreign banks servicing Mir (Sep 2022)
Premium versions with cashback and bonuses from Sberbank, VTB, T-Bank, Alfa-Bank

Statistics

issuing banks64+ banks (by end 2016), now virtually all Russian banks

payments 2020