Armenian banks to stop accepting Russian Mir payment system, except VTB Armenia

Armenian banks set to halt acceptance of Russian Mir payment system, except VTB Armenia, amid rising tensions with Azerbaijan over territorial disputes

According to a report by the Russian state-controlled media outlet RBC on March 19, the majority of banks in Armenia will cease accepting cards linked to the Russian Mir payment system by the end of the month. The only exception to this decision is VTB Armenia, which is a subsidiary of a Russian bank.

The Mir payment system was introduced after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, following international sanctions that limited the use of international cards. Its usage significantly increased after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, leading to major card issuers Visa and Mastercard withdrawing from Russia.

Armenian authorities reported in 2023 that approximately 100,000 Russians arrived in Armenia following the start of mobilization in the fall of 2023.

The impact of this decision is yet to be fully assessed, as there are still over 50 VTB branches in Armenia and nearly 200 ATMs accessible to cardholders.

Washington recently imposed sanctions against the Mir system at the end of February. The payment system has also been abandoned by China’s UnionPay, as well as several countries in Central Asia and other post-Soviet nations.

Disagreement with Azerbaijan over returning villages 

In a separate development, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan mentioned that Armenia might face a conflict with Azerbaijan if it does not reach a compromise with Baku regarding the return of strategic Azerbaijani territories controlled by Armenia since the early 1990s.

TASS quoted Pashinyan from a video of the meeting circulated by his government, stating, “Now we can leave here, let’s go and tell [Azerbaijan] that no, we are not going to do anything. This means that at the end of the week, a war will begin.”

Pashinyan has recently indicated his willingness to return certain villages to Azerbaijan, which are crucial for Yerevan as they control its main road leading northwards to the border with Georgia.

Azerbaijan insists that the return of its territories is a necessary condition for a peace agreement to end the three-decade-long conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan regained control of in September.

Both sides have expressed their desire to sign a formal peace treaty; however, negotiations have stalled on issues such as the demarcation of the countries’ 1000 km (620 mile) border, which remains closed and heavily militarized.

Source: Newsroom

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