In the near future, it will be possible to bind cards of the Russian payment system “Mir” in the mobile application of the Apple Pay contactless payment system, writes RBC.
This option is expected to appear at the end of April, with specific dates set by the card issuing banks. Large credit institutions interviewed by the publication confirmed their readiness to connect customers using Mir cards to Apple Pay.
Until now, contactless payment with the Mir card was only available through mobile devices based on the Android operating system using the Samsung Pay and Mir Pay applications.
The head of the National Payment Council Alma Obaeva noted that the introduction of the new function will increase the competitiveness of Mir cards and the number of its users.
The Mir payment system, operated by the National Payment Card System (NSPK), was created in 2014 after the international payment systems Visa and Mastercard temporarily stopped servicing the cards of the bank that fell under the sanctions of the SMP bank.
The main argument for the introduction of the new system was to improve the security of payments and customers. According to the law, the salaries of employees of budgetary institutions, as well as social benefits are charged on Mir cards.