Turkish banks ruled out the order to stop work with Mir cards

Representatives of the largest Turkish banks Ziraat Bank, Halkbank and VakıfBank responded to a request that, as of the morning of September 28, they had not received notifications about the termination of the use of the Russian payment system Mir, operations continue, RIA Novosti reports.

Earlier, BLOOMBERG reported, citing a Turkish official, that the state-owned banks Halkbank, Ziraat Bank and VakıfBank decided to stop using the Mir system.

According to the agency, the Turkish banks' decision demonstrates that "secondary US sanctions are forcing countries to distance themselves from Moscow," and the behavior of the bankers marks a turn in Turkey's position on sanctions against RUSSIA.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while in New York, promised that his government would discuss problems with the use of cards of the Russian payment system "Mir" at a meeting on September 23. According to him, the use of these cards is a common decision of Turkey and Russia.

“This issue is being analyzed. The relevant authorities will take appropriate steps. Of course, there are alternatives. This is a separate issue. The whole problem lies in the various manifestations of sanctions, which, of course, does not correspond to friendly relations and the normalization of ties. Representatives of our ministries continue discussions. At a meeting in Istanbul on Friday, we will discuss this issue and make a decision,” the president said at the time.

In September, two large private banks in Turkey - Isbank and Denizbank - stopped accepting Mir cards. Isbank said its decision was influenced by the US Treasury's warning to financial institutions. The warning said that if they enter into new or expand existing agreements with the National Payment Card System (NSPK, Mir card operator), they “risk supporting Russia’s efforts to circumvent US sanctions.”

The difficulties in the work of the Mir cards in Turkey have been known for a long time. Back in July, the head of the National Payment Card System, Vladimir Komlev, told the RBC TV channel that Turkish acquiring banks may not accept cards from the Russian Mir payment system if the bank that issued them is under Western sanctions.

In Tajikistan, Dushanbe City Bank, which has the second largest number of cardholders in the country, suspended the service of Mir cards on September 24, citing disruptions. The department for the protection of the rights of consumers of financial services of the NATIONAL BANK of Tajikistan told RBC that banks independently decide on the use of Mir cards. “Today, banks independently decide on further cooperation with NSPK and acceptance of Mir cards in their terminal network. Regarding the issues of servicing Mir cards, it is necessary to contact the banks themselves directly,” the financial regulator said.