NSPK proposed not to introduce a strict deadline for the termination of Visa and Mastercard cards in Russia, but to gradually eliminate the economic incentive for banks to support them. To achieve this, the interbank commission for transactions with such cards is planned to be reduced to 1% from the beginning of 2027, and to 0% from the beginning of 2028.
After Visa and Mastercard left Russia, their cards stopped working abroad, but continue to be accepted within the country: transactions are processed by NSPK. Supporting old "plastic" cards requires costs, while no new products are created for them, and cardholders do not get access to loyalty programs of international payment systems.
For our part, we are confident that such a phased reduction in the interbank remuneration rate will allow banks to painlessly and gradually withdraw international payment system cards from circulation.
Market participants opposed setting a single date for disabling such cards. Therefore, a softer scenario was chosen: not to cut off access immediately, but to gradually push banks and clients towards replacement.
According to NSPK, the share of Mir cards in card transactions exceeded 75% by the end of the first quarter of 2026. However, Visa and Mastercard still remain with some clients: the Central Bank estimated their share at approximately 17% of banking "plastic" at the end of May.
Earlier, the Central Bank already stated that international system cards should gradually be phased out, as they no longer perform their previous functions. An additional risk is associated with security certificates: from January 1, 2025, they ceased to be valid on Visa and Mastercard card chips.