MOSCOW, August 28. /TASS/. The share of Visa and Mastercard cards held by Sber customers is declining every quarter, and Russians will have virtually none of these cards left within several years, Sberbank Deputy Chairman and CFO Taras Skvortsov told TASS in an interview ahead of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

"I don’t think any radical measures are needed here [to phase out Visa and Mastercard cards], because these cards essentially became Mir cards a long time ago. Abruptly withdrawing them from circulation would simply cause panic among customers whose cards would suddenly stop working," he said.

"It is much more natural for the cards to be gradually phased out as they physically wear out - and this is already happening. We see that the share of Visa and Mastercard cards among our customers is declining literally every quarter. Within several years, Russians will have virtually none of these cards left," Skvortsov said.

The Eastern Economic Forum will be held on September 1-4 in Vladivostok on the campus of Far Eastern Federal University. The forum is organized by the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Russian government. TASS is the general information partner.