MOSCOW, March 19. /TASS/. Cuba will mandate the acceptance of cards linked to the Mir payment system as an operational requirement for all public places on the island, Cuban Tourism Minister Juan Carlos Garcia Granda said in an interview with TASS.

"Today Mir cards are accepted across Cuba, but not in all places. And we intend to make sure that accepting Mir cards becomes a mandatory requirement for the work of any place. We will make sure that it is impossible to have a sales outlet that accepts cards but does not accept Mir cards," he said.

In order for Mir cards to be accepted at all retail outlets, each POS terminal must be reprogrammed individually, the minister explained. "This is a fairly long procedure, although there are currently around 20,000 outlets with terminals that accept this card," he added.

Garcia said earlier at a press conference at TASS that over the several months during which the Mir system has been in use in Cuba, transactions worth around $2.7 mln were carried out using Mir-linked cards.

On December 5, 2023, it was reported that POS terminals in Cuba had begun accepting cards linked to the Mir payment system. Cash withdrawals using Mir cards has been available at all ATMs across the island since March 2023.