14ymedio, Madrid, 6 December 2023 — The Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) made official this Tuesday the use of the Russian payment system Mir, a version similar to Visa or Mastercard launched by the Kremlin in 2016 to avoid economic sanctions. The island’s ATMs had already accepted Russian cards as of last March and, in those days, the official press anticipated that by the summer Russian tourists would be able to pay with that means at tourist sites.
We are in December and, according to the statement issued by the BCC, this is still not a reality. Bank officials met this Tuesday with representatives of the Russian National Card Payment System (NSPK), Payment Services (RED SA) and Fincimex, and although they declared that “the operation of Mir cards was made official” in ATMs and point-of-sale terminals (POS), they clarified that in these “it will be implemented gradually, starting in the tourist centers,” to later extend throughout the country.
Two weeks ago, Prensa Latina reported the “technological deployment” began in Havana, Varadero and the Ciego Ávila and Camagüey keys. At the meeting this Tuesday, the delegation of officials visited the state store Casa del Café Mamá Inés, in Old Havana, where “their purchasing actions were satisfactory” with the Russ
