Turkey, Russia working on new payment system after Mir card triggers US threats

A new payment system for Russians visiting Turkey is in the works, according to Turkish news outlet Hurriyet. Named Rebit Kart, the new system will allow Russian tourists "to easily use" cards via a mobile application, as per sources in the administration of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The new system comes as a much-needed alternative after banks in Turkey suspended Mir, a Russian card payment system, at the behest of Erdogan. The suspension was prompted by the United States revealing that it intends to sanction those who support Moscow's expansion of its payment system across the globe.

Mir, which was launched in 2014 by the Central Bank of Russia as a substitute for Visa and Mastercard, was rapidly adopted by nations like Turkey, Belarus, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam, and Tajikistan. In August last year, five banks in Turkey began accepting the payment network to make it easier for Russian tourists to pay for their purchases.

US threatens to sanction financial institutions for using Mir 

However, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) later declared that it will be imposing sanctions on any financial body outside Russia that uses Mir and in turn, facilitates “Russia’s efforts to evade sanctions”. This led to Turkish banks suspending the payment system, as banks of Kazakhstan and Vietnam followed suit.

Russia’s ambassador Aleksey Yerkhov said earlier in February that “the work [on an alternative to Mir] is underway but it’s too early to announce results." He added that further progress and assessment will be made during the peak tourist season. Before that, Alexey Yegarmin, the head of the Russian-Turkish Business Council, hinted that the creation of a new payment network was underway.