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Banks in Belarus are set to develop cooperation with various payment systems including Russia’s Mir payment system and China’s UnionPay, state news agency BelTA reported.
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Deputy governor of the National Bank of Belarus (NBB) Dmitry Kalechitson announced the plan on the sidelines of BankIT 2022.
“We have strengthened our payment infrastructure. This gives us an opportunity to feel more or less confident in the current difficult conditions and to work as part of cross-border cooperation. What is important here is correspondent relations between banks from one side and the other,” Kalechitson was quoted by BelTA as saying.
According to Kalechitson, Mir payment system is one of the means of making payments as the NBB works to diversify the opportunities for citizens and companies.
“It is clear that integration is a gradual process. We have plans to develop interaction with other payment systems. The Chinese UnionPay is tapping our market, our banks will work with this payment system more actively,” the NBB deputy governor added.
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By GlobalDataEarlier this month, media reports emerged that Egyptian banks may soon start transacting with Mir payment cards and with the Russian national currency.
Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan’s Bakai Bank and Doscredobank have withdrawn support for Mir, Interfax reported citing the lenders’ statements.
Bakai Bank said it is temporarily suspending support for Mir cards. Visa and Elcard cards will continue to function normally.
In a similar announcement, Doscredobank said it is suspending acceptance and servicing of Mir cards at its acquiring networks.
The development comes as several Turkish banks withdrew support for the Mir system after the US warned of imposing secondary sanctions.
The Russian financial services industry is subject to severe sanctions from the US and its allies after Moscow ordered the invasion of Ukraine in late February this year.
