Bank of Russia Dumps Visa & Mastercard: A Bold Move or Financial Isolation?

Russia's central bank pulls the plug on Visa and Mastercard—what comes next?

The Plastic Purge

No more swiping. No more tapping. The Bank of Russia just axed all cards issued by Visa and Mastercard, forcing millions to pivot to local alternatives—or crypto. (Guess which one we’re rooting for?)

The Fallout

Expect chaos at ATMs, panic at checkout lines, and a surge in demand for decentralized workarounds. Traditional finance’s grip slips again—while Bitcoin wallets quietly cheer.

The Irony

Sanctions forced this move, but the real loser might be the ruble. When your currency’s as stable as a house of cards, maybe it’s time to stack sats instead.

Days of Mastercard and Visa cards numbered in Russia

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is preparing to phase out Visa and Mastercard payment cards, replacing them with the Russian Mir cards, TASS reported, quoting the press service of the country’s main financial regulator.

The authority is currently considering a deadline for Russian banks to discontinue support for cards issued by the U.S.-headquartered corporations, the official news agency detailed. The CBR is also expecting its replacement with its own Mir cards to be gradual.

A spokesperson for the institution was quoted as stating:

“We are currently considering the timeline, during which the servicing of cards of international payment systems should stop. It will be reasonable and sufficient for the banks to gradually replace them with Mir cards.”

The Bank of Russia emphasized that international cards are still working as usual and that there is no urgent need to pull them out yet. It also noted that commercial banks will promptly inform clients about upcoming changes.

Nevertheless, the regulator highlighted that Russian users can substitute them with Mir cards at any time, if they so wish.

“The decision to extend the validity period for cards of international payment systems that left the Russian market was made so that people could continue to use these cards,” the CBR remarked, but then stated:

“Currently, the need for the measure has lost relevance – the share of such cards in circulation is decreasing, people themselves prefer to replace them with relevant domestic ones.”

Russia to scrap foreign cards 3 years after invading Ukraine

Visa and Mastercard suspended their operations in the Russian Federation soon after Moscow invaded Ukraine in early 2022. Since then, their cards issued for Russian banks can be used only inside the country.

After the American giants pulled out of the Russian market, local banking institutions, working with the National Payment Card System (NSPK), extended the validity of their cards.

Earlier this month, news came out that the Central Bank of Russia intends to set a maximum validity period for all of them.

The NSPK, which is wholly owned and controlled by the CBR, is Russia’s payment clearing house processing bank card transactions within its borders and the operator of the Mir card payment system.

It also provides clearing for the Faster Payments System (SBP), which allows Russians to initiate interbank transfers using only a mobile phone number, and to make and receive payments through a QR code.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Russia has been preparing to launch a digital version of the national fiat. The digital ruble will be introduced in stages, starting from September 2026, the monetary authority announced in June, after President Putin called for mass adoption of the sovereign digital coin.

The introduction of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) will be accompanied by wider implementation of payments using the universal QR code already available through the SPB, as Cryptopolitan reported last month.

The days of crypto payments in Russia, strongly opposed by the CBR, also seem numbered. The Russian government has been tightening the noose on transactions with Bitcoin and the like by adopting a package of laws, targeting peer-to-peer trades and curbing crypto usage in general.

The only loophole for cryptocurrency payments that is likely to remain open is the one suggested by the CBR itself. That’s the “experimental legal regime” that allows Russian companies to use digital coins in foreign trade, in order to circumvent war-related sanctions that have severely limited their access to the global financial system.

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