Mir (payment system)

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MIR
МИР
TypePJSC
IndustryFinancial services
Founded2015; 6 years ago (2015)
Headquarters11A Bolshaya Tatarskaya str.,
Moscow
,
Russia
Area served
Russia, Belarus, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Turkey, UAE, Vietnam, Armenia, Cyprus,Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan (as of October 2021)
ProductsDebit cards, Credit cards, payment systems
Brands
  • Mir Pay
  • Mir Secure
ParentPJSC NSPK (100% owned by the Central Bank of Russia)
Websitemironline.ru
privetmir.ru

Mir (Russian: Мир, IPA: [ˈmʲir]; lit.  peace or world) is a Russian payment system. It facilitates electronic funds transfers based on the national payment system established by the Central Bank of Russia by the law adopted on May 1, 2017.[1] The system is operated by the  [ru], a wholly owned subsidiary of the Central Bank of Russia.[2]

Mir does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers; rather, Mir provides financial institutions with Mir-branded payment products that they then use to offer credit, debit, or other programs to their customers. Mir cards are accepted mostly by Russia-based companies, such as Aeroflot or Russian Railways, although it is gradually becoming popular among foreign companies with Russian operations.[3]

History[]

Mir, as an idea, was born out of a series of joint initiatives between the Central Bank of Russia and the World Bank in the mid-2000s that aimed to create a framework of an autonomous payment processing system inside Russia.[4] While development was nearing completion, the Global Financial Crisis put further activity on indefinite hold. On the basis of this groundwork, Mir as a system was formalized in 2014 as a way to overcome potential blocks of electronic payments, after several Russian banks were denied services by US-based Visa and MasterCard because of the sanctions regime against them.[5] The first cards working on the Mir system were launched in December 2015.[6] Sberbank, Russia's leading bank, started issuing them in October 2016.[7] By the end of 2016, 1.76 million Mir cards had been issued by 64 banks.[8] As of October 2021 over 100 million cards have been issued.[9] 3.5 billion payments were issued using Mir in 2020, 75% more than in 2019.[10] In March 2021, the payment system announced a ban on the replenishment of foreign electronic wallets. Such operations are considered high-risk.[11]

Operations[]

Russia[]

Mir is mainly promoted by the Russian government, with legislation mandating that all welfare and pension payments should be processed through the system by January 2018 entering into force on May 1, 2017.[1][12] Banks were reluctant to issue them, as they feared that their cost might be higher compared to cards belonging to more established payments systems.[13][14][15]

Acceptance in other countries[]

In 2018, the system was introduced in Armenia and South Ossetia[16] and in 2019 - in Abkhazia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.[17][18] In October 2021, Mir was launched in United Arab Emirates. Bulgaria and Thailand are expected to follow, according to Central Bank of Russia. The system was also put under test in the UK and in South Korea.[19]

India[]

India and Russia expressed interest in continuing dialogue on accepting RuPay Cards and Mir Cards within national payment infrastructures.[20]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Путин подписал закон об обязательном переводе бюджетников на карты "Мир"". Interfax.ru (in Russian). 2017-05-01. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  2. ^ "The Bank of Russia issues warning over Mir payment cards". Russia Beyond The Headlines. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  3. ^ "AliExpress First Foreign Company to Accept Russia's Mir Payment Cards". Moscow Times. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  4. ^ http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/777811472539077075/pdf/108086-FSA-P157494-PUBLIC.pdf
  5. ^ "McDonald's first U.S. business to accept Russia's new Mir payment card". UPI. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Seven Russian banks start issuing first cards of Mir payment system". www.thepaypers.com. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Sberbank launches servicing of Mir payment cards". Russia Beyond The Headlines. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  8. ^ "About 20 mln Mir cards may be issued next year in Russia". TASS (in Russian). Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  9. ^ "mir website".
  10. ^ "mir website press release".
  11. ^ "«Мир» запретит пополнять со своих карт иностранные электронные кошельки" (in Russian). banki.ru. 2021-03-01.
  12. ^ "Top Russian Banks Lobby Against Forced Use of Kremlin's Mir Payment Card". Moscow Times. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  13. ^ News, East-West Digital (20 June 2016). "National bank card MIR soon accepted ubiquitously in Russia in spite of security and financial challenges". East-West Digital News. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  14. ^ Колебакина, Дмитрий Катаргин, Елена. ""Карта "Мир" – это такая советская ситуация, когда "счастье" навязывается сверху..."". БИЗНЕС Online (in Russian). Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  15. ^ "Банки объяснили причины высокой стоимости национальной платежной карты". РБК. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  16. ^ "Карта "Мир" сблизила Южную Осетию с остальным миром". AlaniaInform (in Russian). Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  17. ^ "İş Bank first Turkish bank to accept Russian payment system MIR". Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  18. ^ "UZCARD and MIR agreed on issuing Co-badged cards". Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  19. ^ "Карты платёжной системы Мир стали принимать в ОАЭ" (in Russian). Интерфакс. 2021-10-05.
  20. ^ "India- Russia Joint Statement following the visit of the President of the Russian Federation". mint. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.

External links[]

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