ArmInfo. The link between the national card systems of Armenia and Russia - ArCa and MIR - will be suspended from March 30.
As the National Payment System (NPS) Armenian Card told ArmInfo, the armenian banks has decided to temporarily suspend the acquiring of ArCa cards issued by Armenian banks on the territory of the Russian Federation and, on the contrary, the acquiring of NSPK cards on the territory of Armenia.
In Armenia, only MIR cards issued by VTB Bank (Armenia) will be serviced and exclusively in the ATM and POS network of this bank. To date, the bank has issued over 188 thousand MIR cards, including pension cards. The bank's service infrastructure includes 201 ATMs and 54 POS terminals. The bank's branch network consists of 53 branches.
As reported on the official website of VTB Bank (Armenia), the lack of interconnection of the national systems of Armenia and Russia will not in any way affect the operation of VTB (Armenia) cards. cards in its infrastructure in full. Holders of cards of VTB Group banks and any other Russian banks still have access to key services: cash withdrawals from VTB ATMs (Armenia), payment for services in the Mobile banking application, through remote service channels Video Bank and Telephone Bank? Transfers are available using VTB (Armenia) cards, including cross-border ones. Depending on the country, transfers can be made using a phone number or card, using bank details, or in cash. You can make non-cash payments at retail outlets and withdraw cash through ATMs in Russia.
At the same time, as of March 30, VTB (Armenia) will complete participation in the state program to pay cashback to pensioners for non-cash payments. The remuneration for March 2024 will be credited to the recipient's existing account at VTB (Armenia) before April 25.
Market participants expected a similar situation after the US adopted the 13th package of sanctions restrictions in February, which also included the Russian NSPK . According to market analysts, in connection with the above decision, an ambiguous situation will arise in the payment market of Armenia. Apparently, part of the funds from VTB (Armenia) cards will be transferred to NPS Armenian Card cards, however, in parallel, some relocants working in Armenia will prefer to open additional card accounts with VTB (Armenia) to transfer funds to and from Russia. Armenian banks will also suffer some losses; the situation will also affect the restriction of financial flows of small export-import firms, as well as the volume of private transfers.
