MOSCOW, April 2. /TASS/. The Bank of Russia sees the interest from other countries in cooperation in the field of payment systems, despite the sanctions, First Deputy Governor of the regulator Olga Skorobogatova said on Tuesday.
"We will actively develop all these services (of Mir cards - TASS). Despite the fact that the risk of secondary sanctions by our foreign counterparties is determined to be significant, nevertheless, we see countries that still work with us on expanding the infrastructure. We will continue cross-border cooperation on this topic," she said.
The Bank of Russia is also discussing the issue of cross-border payments in digital currencies within the framework of working groups with a number of countries, Skorobogatova said. "We have several working groups with countries that have either developed or are in the process of developing national digital currencies. Right now we are discussing how this [cross-border payments] can technically be done, the time frame, and so on," she said.
The ATM network of Russian banks that are present in foreign countries can also be expanded so that their citizens can use the Mir card, Skorobogatova added. "Our banks are present in a number of countries, and we are currently working on expanding the ATM network of our banks in these countries," she said.
She noted that even those countries that were previously less interested have become more active in this issue. "We see the interest of many countries, indeed, in giving such an opportunity to our tourists and their citizens," Skorobogatova said.