According to a government official, banks in Mongolia will soon begin accepting cards from the Russian MIR payment system, RBI reports.
The proposal was disclosed by Tuksgrlin Munkh-Od, head of the department for the coordination of tourist strategy at the Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Tourism, in a conversation with the media.
According to the official, the government has almost finished its preliminary work with regional banks.
The first countries to begin taking Mir cards in 2018 were Belarus and Kazakhstan.
The research stated that more than 10 countries already utilize this Russian payment method and that more than fifteen more countries have shown interest in adopting it.
Egypt was reportedly one among the nations seeking to begin accepting Mir payment cards, according to media sources from last October.
The US-led western alliance has imposed unprecedented sanctions on the Russian financial services sector in retaliation for Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine.
The US Treasury issued a warning last year, saying that non-American financial institutions “risk aiding Russia’s efforts to avoid US sanctions through the increasing use of the MIR National Payment System beyond the borders of the Russian Federation.”
Moreover, the US administration has stated that penalties against entities that help Russia avoid them will be imposed.
Last year, as Eurasia Business Today reported, three banks in Kyrgyzstan, following other financial institutions in Central Asia and throughout the world, stopped accepting a once-common Russian payment card out of concern for possible international sanctions.
The 24.kg news agency claimed that Kompanion Bank, Bakai Bank, and Doscredobank had made the decision to stop processing transactions on the MIR Russian payment card.
Moscow continues to face setbacks as banks in allies leave its banking system, despite the fact that these three are minor institutions and larger Kyrgyz banks allegedly still accept the cards.
