Cards of the national payment system “Mir” occupied more than half of the Russian card market for the first time in the third quarter of 2023. writes about this RBC Referring to the Central Bank of Russia (CBRF).
According to the nine-month data of 2023, the share of transactions made using Mir cards in the total transaction volume in Russia is 52.5%, and the share of issued cards is 51.6%. As of the first half of 2023, these figures were 49.4 percent and 48.2 percent, respectively. The total number of Mir cards issued is 256 million.
According to the regulator, Russian banks distributed a total of 424.9 million cards to individuals in the third quarter of this year. The transaction volume on these cards amounted to 44.3 billion rubles; Of this, 14.4 billion rubles consisted of payments for goods and services, 21 billion rubles of money transfers and the remaining 8.8 billion rubles of cash withdrawals from cards.
The growth in the share of Mir cards began with the exit of international payment systems Visa and MasterCard from the Russian market, which held the main share in March 2022. Cards of these systems issued by Russian banks stopped working abroad, but continued to work in Russia, thanks to the processing of transactions through the Mir card operator National Payment Card System (NSCP). This led to a sharp increase in demand for Mir cards in March last year.
Until March 2022, the main market share is occupied by international payment system cards. In 2021, the share of Mir cards in the total card transaction volume was 25.7% and 32.5% of the number of cards. In its strategy to develop the National Payment System, which it adopted in 2021 before the imposition of sanctions, the Bank of Russia aimed to increase the share of Mir cards to 27-30% of the total transaction volume by the end of 2023. . According to the estimates of NSPK chairman Vladimir Komlev, the share of Mir cards in the total card transaction volume will reach 70% by the end of 2024, and Visa and MasterCard cards may completely disappear from circulation by 2025 (he said). About this in an interview with Frank Media).
Previously Russian payment system “Mir” started We accept your cards at Banco de Venezuela POS terminals in tourist areas of Venezuela.
Formerly Central Bank of the Russian Federation elongated The right of banks not to disclose sanctions-sensitive data.