MOSCOW, December 28. /TASS/. About 20 mln cards of Mir national payment system may be issued in 2017, Chairperson of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina said on Wednesday in an interview with Rossiya 24 TV Channel.

"We view the next year as the most important from standpoint of increasing the number of cards. We believe about 20 mln cards may be issued," she said.

1.76 mln Mir cards have been issued to date, Nabiullina said.

"I indeed believe this is the most important project - creation of a national payment card instrument. 167 banks already joined this system; 64 banks started issuing these cards and 1.76 mln cards have been issued so far. A portion of banks, over a hundred, already became acquirers," she added.