All this is a consequence of the imposition of sanctions by the US financial structure on transactions using these cards. Given the fact that many countries are more or less dependent on the American system, their banks are also prohibited from working with Russian cards.
Many, but not all. So, with the cards “Mir” you can pay in at least 12 countries that initially refused to comply with the ban order:
- in always friendly to Russia: Abkhazia, Belarus, Armenia, Venezuela, South Ossetia and Cuba – without limitation;
- in the post-Soviet Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan;
- in South Korea.
In addition, at least 2 countries (Vietnam and Taiwan) continue to work with MIR cards, though in a limited form:
- in Vietnam, transactions with these cards can only be made within the infrastructure of the Vietnamese-Russian Bank and in one of the large supermarket chains;
- in Thailand, they can be used to pay for purchases and withdraw cash in local currency only in large supermarkets in big cities.
It is also worth noting that in the near future it is planned to obtain permission to service MIR cards; in six more countries.