BOFIT Viikkokatsaus / BOFIT Weekly Review 2016/01
On December 15, Bank Rossii, which was targeted with Western sanctions in summer 2014, became the first bank to issue a Mir payments card. At the same time, six other banks were announced to issue their own Mir cards. Among the 35 Russian banks currently participating in the Mir system are giant state bank Sberbank and VTB24. Officials expect national use of Mir cards to ramp up during this year. Use of the Mir card in international payments, on the other hand, may remain limited.