The Bank of Russia is building a system of gateways with foreign payment networks and is now working with Turkey in this field. Russia’s monetary authority would also allow experimental use of cryptocurrencies in foreign economic activities, its chief said.
The Central Bank of Russia ‘actively works’ with Turkey on new payment gateways
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is developing payment gateways with foreign payment systems and is actively working with Turkey in this area, Governor Elvira Nabiullina said at a meeting with lawmakers in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament.
Russians visiting Turkey have had problems with payments since Visa and Mastercard suspended Russian operations as part of sanctions over the war in Ukraine. As of September last year, Russian Mir cards are no longer accepted in a number of countries.
During that month, Turkish banks also stopped processing Mir payments after a US warning that financial institutions working with CBR’s National Card Payment System, the operator of Mir, risked be involved in circumventing Russian sanctions. At the time, Turkish media reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had suggested setting up a new payment system between the two countries.
“We have built a system of gateways between our payment systems so that we can pay. This does not work in all countries… However, such opportunities will appear,” said Nabiullina, quoted by the Interfax news agency.
Alternative options are being discussed with each country individually, the governor explained, including the use of prepaid cards or cards issued by the respective nations’ payment systems. Members of Turkey’s tourism industry have proposed launching cards that Russians can load with rubles and use during their stay in the country.
Russia has been mulling ways to circumvent the financial restrictions imposed by the West for its invasion of Ukraine. One of the options considered is to use digital assets, including decentralized cryptocurrencies that have yet to be fully regulated in the country.
During the Duma meeting, Nabiullina also indicated that while the regulator remains opposed to domestic crypto payments, it is open to allowing international crypto deals under experimental legal regimes. These will be carried out through authorized organizations, she explained, quoted by Tass, adding that the scheme can also work with other digital financial assets.
Do you think Russia, Turkey and other nations will launch alternative fiat payment gateways and use crypto in settlements? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.
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