According to the latest report, an executive at Russia’s domestic payment system said that Russia is turning to Chinese microchip makers to circumvent Western sanctions. These sanctions spurred demand for bank cards associated with the Mir payment system.
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Moreover, Russia is facing a shortage of microchips as Asian manufacturers suspend production during the pandemic, while European suppliers have stopped working with Moscow after sanctions, Oleg Tishakov, board member of Russia’s National Credit Card Payment System (NSPK), said.
“We are looking for new suppliers of microchips, we have already found two in China, and the certification process is in progress,” Tishakov told a conference on Tuesday, without giving further details.
According to sources calculations based on data from the system, NSPK issued more than 2 million Mir cards between the end of 2021 and March, out of a total of 116 million credit cards currently issued.
All major Russian banks have reported an increase in demand for domestic credit cards, with some banks now partnering with China’s UnionPay to issue such cards. UnionPay is the payment system that Russians use as an alternative to Visa and Mastercard when shopping overseas.
In addition, some banks in Turkey, Vietnam, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Georgia breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia also accept Mir cards.
