Kyrgyzstan is set to stop accepting payments with Russian “Mir” cards from April 5, preceded by Armenia on March 29.
After Visa, Mastercard, and American Express halted their services in Russia in March 2022 and the U.S. imposed sanctions on the Russian National Payment Card System, the Mir system emerged as an alternative for international transactions. Consequently, Mir saw a surge in usage in countries and regions with significant Russian influence.
Mir cards remain usable in certain regions such as Belarus, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia, and are still operational, albeit with some limitations, in Vietnam, Tajikistan, Venezuela, and Cuba. Although Kazakhstan continues to allow the use of Mir cards, its largest financial institution, Halyk Bank, ceased accepting these payments a month ago.
