Russian banks announced to start issuing cards using Chinese UnionPay cards operators system with Russia’s own Mir network after visa and MasterCard suspended their operations in Russia.
Announcements regarding the switch to UnionPay came on Sunday from Sberbank Russia’s biggest lender, as well as Alfa Bank and Tinkoff.
Some Russian banks already operate the UnionPay payment system. They include Rosselkhozbank, Pochta Bank, Gazprombank, Bank St. Petersburg, Promsvyazbank, Russian Regional Development Bank also known as VBRR, Primsotsbank, Zenit and Sovcombank.
China’s UnionPay is an international payment system founded in 2002. UnionPay is accepted in 180 countries including Switzerland, Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Cyprus, Thailand, India, Israel, Portugal, Croatia, Poland, Serbia, Hungary, Austria and Pakistan.