Turkish banks Is Bankasi and DenizBank on September 19 stopped servicing Russian Mir cards. The corresponding decision was made on September 16 in connection with the US and UK sanctions against Russia.

Currently Is Bankasi and DenizBank ATMs do not accept Russian cards. The banks made this decision against the backdrop of statements about possible US Treasury sanctions against foreign financial institutions that work with the Mir payment system.

Thus, two out of five Turkish banks suspended work with Russian Mir cards. Cards are still accepted by state-owned banks Halkbank, Vakifbank and Ziraat.

Representatives of the Russian payment system said that work with Mir cards would depend on the position of the credit institutions themselves. They recalled that some Turkish acquiring banks that accept Russian cards can reject plastic transactions in their devices from Russian banks under blocking sanctions.

Meanwhile, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia recommended that tourists coming to Turkey take cash (dollars, euros) or change rubles with them.

ATOR noted that in Turkey, the number of both stores accepting Mir cards and ATMs issuing cash is decreasing. This is due to the large amount of money withdrawn from working ATMs. As a result, they stop accepting cards even from non-sanctioned banks, including Tinkoff. Ziraat Bankası and Halkbank devices give out money most stably on Mir cards.

Earlier it was reported that the US and the EU are increasing pressure on Turkish banks that cooperate with the Russian payment system Mir, as they fear that the Russian authorities are using the Turkish banking sector to circumvent sanctions. A number of hotels in Turkey have already stopped accepting Mir cards at the direction of the local Central Bank.

The Russian Central Bank also announced plans to increase the number of countries accepting Mir cards to 20 by 2025 and to 35 by 2030.

bbabo.Net