Russian Mir debit and credit cards may soon begin to be accepted at Indian ATMs and terminals.

According to the report of Deccan Herald, Russia is likely to “smooth the way” for the acceptance of Indian RuPay cards there. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and SPFS, the Russian equivalent of SWIFT, are apparently also being discussed by the parties as potential for mutual implementation.

Reportedly, India and Russia are in conversation to use other national currencies in their bilateral trade. The idea of establishing a global reserve currency based on the currencies of the five BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—is also being discussed inside the group.

Alexander Pankin, the deputy foreign minister of Russia, also revealed that Moscow and New Delhi were negotiating the use of Mir cards.

“The unjustified blocking of all Russian clients by the largest international card payment systems has made it important to expand the geography of Mir cards. We are actively working in this direction” stated Pankin last week, adding that talks on this issue are also taking place with Egypt, China, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cuba, Myanmar, Nigeria, and Thailand.

RuPay and Mir cards would be accepted by each other’s national payment infrastructures, making it simpler for travellers from Russia to India and vice versa to make purchases with the cards without any problem.

After the United States and other Western nations tightened sanctions against Russia in response to its military offensive against Ukraine, Visa and MasterCard left the Russian market in March of this year. Due to this, it was challenging for Russian and Indian tourists to use the ATMs to withdraw cash or make payments in each other’s countries.

In July 2014, following the imposition of sanctions by the US as a result of Russia’s invasion of Crimea, the country launched its National Payment Card System. Launched in December 2015, the Mir card. This year, its use increased significantly as the US and other western countries tightened sanctions against Russia after President Vladimir Putin gave the order for his army to commence a military offensive in Ukraine on February 24.

The US and other Western countries have criticised India for both continuing to trade with Russia in defiance of sanctions as well as for hesitating to strongly denounce Russia for its aggression against Ukraine. India also bought more Russian coal and oil.

According to reports, India is reportedly paying for its purchases from Russia with Indian Rupees, UAE Dirhams, and Chinese Yuan.

Currently, 11 nations—Abkhazia, Armenia, Belarus, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, South Korea, and South Ossetia—allow the use of Russian Mir payment cards.

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