Two Turkish banks stop the Russian payment system Mir | News

Turkiye Is Bankasi, one of Turkey’s largest private lenders, and Denizbank have separately announced that they will suspend transactions through the Mir system. They pointed to a recent statement by the US Treasury.

Russia began developing its own domestic payment system in 2015 after an initial set of Western sanctions. These were established after the Russian annexation of Crimea the previous year. This resulted in the creation of a card payment system called Mir. But these cards are not accepted all over the world. The Mir payment system is currently available in a few countries, including Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Turkey did not impose sanctions on Russian institutions in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Four other Turkish banks process Mir payments. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 5 that the system facilitates tourism between the two countries.

Because of the rapprochement, some of Turkey’s Western allies are concerned that Ankara has become too close to Moscow, and thus set an example for Turkish companies. The US Treasury has already warned Turkish companies that doing business with certain Russian entities and individuals could result in sanctions.

Erdogan has mediated for Turkey since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February, and later helped negotiate an agreement to resume grain shipments from Ukraine’s ports on the Black Sea. Meanwhile, Turkey is also helping to arm Kyiv. Erdogan also publicly defended Putin against sanctions and urged countries not to underestimate Russia.

See also: Russia and China are working on an alternative to the SWIFT system with which banks communicate