Moscow payment card introduced to process all financial transactions in Russia

Today sees the introduction of the Russian national payment card.

The move is a response to global sanctions imposed against Russia by the EU and US over Ukraine.

Last year Russia’s lower house backed a law that stipulated all payment transactions must be processed within the country.

MasterCard has opted into the new system and is connected to the domestic clearing mechanism.

Visa is not yet on board, but is working with the Bank of Russia and will follow MasterCard in the next few months.