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Russia’s Mir payment system should be integrated into Turkish financial system — expert

Payments using Mir cards in Turkey are currently accepted by Is Bankasi, Ziraat Bankasi, and VakifBank

ANKARA, April 13. /TASS/. Full integration of Russia’s Mir payment system into the financial system of Turkey will help solve the problems of Russian tourists, Executive Director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) Maya Lomidze said on Wednesday.

"Suspension of services by international payment systems Visa and Mastercard on the Russian market will lead to a decline in the tourist flow travelling to Turkey on their own, not through tour operators. They will have difficulties with online payments for hotels and tickets," she said in an interview with Dunya newspaper. At the same time, she noted that around 80% of Russian tourists arrive in Turkey using the services of tour operators.

Payments using Mir cards in Turkey are currently accepted by Is Bankasi, Ziraat Bankasi, and VakifBank.

According to her forecast, the flow of Russian tourists to Turkey in 2022 may reach about 2 mln people compared to 4.7 mln tourists a year earlier.

Russia and Turkey signed an agreement on settlements and payments in national currencies in October 2019. The agreement also provides for the further expansion of the infrastructure for accepting Russian Mir payment cards in Turkey and connecting Turkish banks and companies to the Financial messaging system of the Bank of Russia (SPFS) - Russia’s counterpart to SWIFT.