MOSCOW, March 2. /TASS/. Russia’s national payment system Mir has conducted its first test transactions with Mir cards in Dubai. The Network International group of companies, which provides services in the e-commerce market in the Middle East and Africa, acts as the local partner of Mir in the UAE, the press service of the payment system told TASS.

"The first test transactions with Russian payment cards were carried out in Dubai (United Arab Emirates, UAE) as part of an exclusive cooperation agreement between the Mir payment system and Network International, a leading digital commerce company in the Middle East and Africa," the Mir press service said.

At present, ten countries accept Mir cards, while three more states have carried out pilot transactions. The payment system has also ensured a possibility to make cross-border transfers from Mir cards to cards of national payment systems. In particular, it is possible to make cross-border transfers from Mir cards to cards of the national payment systems of Uzbekistan (Uzcard) and Kyrgyzstan (Elcart).

Currently, the Mir payment system comprises 262 banks that accept and service Mir cards in their networks. Also 150 banks issue Mir cards. According to the payment system, to date, about 95 mln cards have been issued.

The Mir payment system is actively expanding the geography of its cards giving the priority to the countries enjoying the highest demand among Russian tourists. According to the Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing of Dubai, about 728,000 Russians visited the UAE in 2019.

"The UAE is traditionally one of the most popular tourist destinations, where Russians make hundreds of thousands of trips every year. Our further cooperation with Network International will be aimed at providing Mir cardholders with the opportunity to pay in the UAE with their usual card," head of the Mir payment system Vladimir Komlev said.