Two of Turkey’s largest banks have suspended acceptance of the Russian payment system, called Mir.
This decision comes after the warnings of the United States of America about a possible punishment in case of evasion of the sanctions imposed on Russia.
This payment system was introduced as an alternative for Russians after their Visa and MasterCard cards stopped working abroad. The two international payment system providers suspended Russian operations due to the military invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
The largest Turkish lenders, Is Bank and Deniz Bank, suspended transactions under Mir.
The U.S. Treasury Department warned banks outside the United States that the deal with Mir would “risk supporting Russia’s efforts to evade U.S. sanctions.”
Is Bank said it was evaluating the Treasury’s statement, while Deniz Bank said it was “currently unable to secure these transactions”.
The Russian Association of Tourist Operators (ATOR) has recommended that its citizens who travel to Turkey use cash, due to the shrinking possibilities for payment by bank card.
Eight countries, mostly friendly to Russia, accept bank cards within Mir. Turkey and Vietnam are the only countries that accept this system, which are not former members of the Soviet Union.