HAVANA, October 9. /TASS/. Russia's Mir payment system has started working in Nicaragua, so far it is possible to withdraw money from an ATM, Russian Trade Representative in Nicaragua Petr Pankratov told TASS.

"The Mir payment system has started working in Nicaragua, so far it is possible to withdraw money from an ATM," he said.

Pankratov also said that a meeting of the Russian delegation with representatives of the Credit Savings Cooperative of Nicaragua took place on Tuesday, "at which practical issues were discussed". "The Nicaraguan side, which provides technical support, asked to inform the Russian diaspora in Nicaragua about the launch of the Mir system in the country," the Russian trade representative said.

He also reported that payment by Mir card in Nicaragua, which can now be found in many places in Cuba, is a question of the future. "We are not yet talking about payment by Mir card, it is a question of the future. We are currently discussing the appearance of new ATMs, but that is not all. The system also allows for money transfers - in both directions, there is a demand for it," Pankratov explained.

The Russian Trade Representative said that so far there is one ATM in Managua where you can withdraw money from Mir cards. It is located in the Delta building of the Credicoop company and is accessible 24 hours a day. Money can be withdrawn from the card in US dollars, as the local currency - the cordoba - and the dollar are equivalent in Nicaragua, Pankratov explained.

"The situation here is somewhat different from Cuba, there is a greater influx of tourists from Russia, the development of tourism between Russia and Nicaragua is complicated by the lack of direct flights. Nevertheless, the introduction of the Mir card in Nicaragua is a good support for the development of tourism from Russia," he said.

Pankratov also noted the great help of the Nicaraguan partners in making the launch of the Mir system in the Central American country possible. "The Nicaraguans worked very quickly and responsibly. Once again, they proved to be a very good and reliable partner," he added.