Due to US sanctions on the MIR payment system, as verified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) is unable to consider positively the request to run the MIR card scheme within the banking system at this time.
What is the MIR system of payment?
MIR is a Russian local payment card backed by the Russian government.
The National Payment Card System (NSPK) was formed in July 2014 in response to sanctions imposed against Russia earlier that year, which temporarily prevented Russian cardholders and merchants from transacting on foreign card networks. By December 2015, NSPK had developed the technical infrastructure and commercial agreements necessary to initiate MIR card issuance and ATM/POS acceptance.
Through NSPK, all Russian banks that are members of international card networks are processed and cleared. MIR is already accepted at more than 85 percent of point-of-sale terminals in the country, in neighbouring countries through the sharing of BIN tables, and globally through co-branding agreements with foreign card brands such as Amex, JCB, and Maestro.
MIR can also be used to make internet purchases. In progress are MIR contactless, mobile, and loyalty programmes. The objective is to include payment, non-financial, and government services on the MIR card.
