What is the world map at work. MIR bank card for pensioners - advantages and disadvantages

Until recently, the main payment systems that were used and worked flawlessly around the world were VISA and MasterCard. New last years the MIR card is gaining more and more popularity among customers. International payment systems offer many benefits to consumers: various bonuses, cash back, Special offers for holders of premium products, etc.

But in the spring of 2014, as a result of the imposition of sanctions against the Russian Federation, the international payment systems cut off the services of several Russian banks, after which the cardholders did not have access to their funds. To avoid further occurrence of such situations, it was decided to create the NSPK. Its product is the Sberbank MIR payment card. The main advantage of a payment instrument is that external political and economic factors do not affect its operation.

The national payment system is capable of issuing common banking products, plus the possibility of issuing plastics of the same name. Since the launch of the system, most financial and credit organizations have been able to sell MIR cards, including Sberbank, which launched the product in November 2016.

Debit

The card products of the national payment system, first of all, include the Classic MIR card of Sberbank. This debit card is a good combination of price and quality of service. It is suitable for budget transfers and as a salary. The cost for the first year of service is 750 rubles, the next - 450 rubles. For state employees, service within salary project provided free of charge.

For wealthier clients, the bank offers Gold card, which can be issued as part of a salary project. The cost of service is 1,500 rubles in the first year, and 3,000 rubles in the rest.

A separate place in this list of debit products is occupied by Pension card... According to federal law, all pensioners will eventually receive their pension on MIR cards. The same applies to those clients who receive pension payments for plastics by Maestro Social. The service is provided free of charge.

It is worth noting one more feature of the listed types of payment instruments in comparison with similar products of international payment systems: their validity period is 5 years, while foreign counterparts have 3 years.

How to get the

You can arrange a card product using one of the options below.

At the bank office

To order plastic, you need to fulfill virtually the same requirements as when receiving a standard debit card:

• a visit to a bank branch;
• presentation of a passport and a second document;
• filling out a detailed questionnaire;
• getting plastic.

Order online

For those wishing to receive any of debit cards The NSPK provides for such an option as filing an application online. To do this, you need to go to the official website of the bank, and then to the page corresponding to the specific plastic. The whole procedure consists of 3 steps:

• provide personal data;
• enter passport details;
• indicate the address, mobile phone and mail.

After submitting the application, the plastic can be obtained at the branch nearest to the place of residence.

Seniors can also apply in a similar manner. But first they need to write and fill out an application for the delivery of the pension to the bank account.

For the design of plastics, the banking institution sets certain requirements for the future user of the product. The terms of provision are as follows:

• age - from 18 years old (for Classic - from 14 years old, for additional - from 7 years old);
• temporary or permanent registration on the territory of Russia;
• A pension card is issued to persons who are entitled to a pension.

Cash withdrawal and card replenishment

By the way, many users are worried about whether it is possible to withdraw cash and replenish the account of the MIR Sberbank card? Yes, such procedures are available for implementation in any self-service device that belongs to the issuing bank.

Replenishment of the card account is possible in the following ways:

• using the online service and its mobile app for smartphones;
• using the SMS service “ Mobile bank”;
• from other accounts;
• in payment terminals;
• at the bank's operating cash desk with a passport.

Additional features of the MIR card

Additional features are provided for the national product:

• account management and repayment credit debts using remote services;
• activation of auto payment service for payment utilities, mobile communications etc.;
• cashless payments in online stores;
• connection "Piggy bank";
• participation in the program Thank you.

Credit

On this moment the bank does not issue credit cards of the national payment system. Perhaps, such a product will be created soon. If the client has a desire to get a credit card, then he can pay attention to other offers of the bank - VISA and MasterCard credit cards (classic and premium class).

Terms of service for the MIR card of Sberbank

It is no secret for many clients that servicing debit and credit plastics is sometimes extremely expensive. However, this is not surprising: the more options are “tied” to the card, the more resources are involved in servicing it - technical, labor, financial. Which is quite expensive.

Of course, banks also offer absolutely simple cards with zero cost. annual service... But, before registering such a product, a potential owner should understand that many options will not be available to him. For example, paying for purchases and services in online stores. Or its plastic will not be accepted in terminals and points of sale abroad. In a word, before registration, you should carefully study all the conditions - and remember about free cheese and a mousetrap. But there will be demand for any offer, so in this case. Usually these are socially unprotected categories of the population - students, pensioners, representatives of low-income families.

If we are talking about the MIR card, then for its future consumers there are many advantages in terms of service. At the moment, the NSPK product cannot boast of low service tariffs: the annual cost of plastics is the same as for similar plastics VISA and MasterCard. But the Russian product is completely protected from the geopolitical situation in the world, which is a guarantee of the safety of the client's funds. Therefore, this fact will not bypass the Russians who have decided to acquire a national payment card MIR of Sberbank.

Other terms of service include:

• cash replenishment free of charge;
• withdrawal - up to 300 thousand rubles. per day;
• transfers - up to 500 thousand rubles. in a day.

Advantages and disadvantages of the card

This banking product, like any other, not necessarily banking, has both pros and cons.

The advantages include the following:

• Reliability: payment instruments issued by Russian banking structures, which means that they cannot be blocked at someone's whim. They do not depend on the geopolitical situation in the world, are reliable and will work as long as they work. central bank Russia. However, the latter's default is extremely unlikely.
• Price: the cost of service will also be insignificant compared to the standard cost of the VISA and MasterCard systems familiar to Russian consumers. As soon as a special infrastructure for the service and operation of the national product is launched, the tariffs for its service will be reduced.
• Range of use: Over time, plastic will become one of the means of payment on the Internet. This is facilitated by the introduction of a special protection system 3D-Secure.
• Using the resources of issuing banks: this means that the MIR card can be used in any terminal of the bank that issued it, and without paying any commission.

The disadvantages of the system include:

• Insufficient prevalence. To some extent, this can hardly be called a disadvantage: the card products of the national system will gradually spread in the regions. Once the product is ready to use, it shouldn't take too long to implement and fix the flaws.

Varieties of the MIR Sberbank bank card

Today the bank offers the following types of debit cards:

• Classic. There is also no particular difference here from standard debit cards. It is assumed that in the future they will be equal participants in the salary market plastic cards... It is likely that, since the national MIR system is not commercial, but the state system, then over time all civil servants will be able to receive their wages on plastics WORLD.
• Pension. The holder of this card has access to all standard banking services and an additional 3.5% per annum on the account balance.
• Gold. The product provides more opportunities, high level service, the use of contactless technology. Participation in the bonus program allows you to return up to 5% of the cost of purchases Thank you from the bank and up to 20% from partners. Until the end of 2018, a promotion is in effect - the cost of the first year of service is reduced by 50% and will amount to 1,500 rubles.
• Premium and Premium +. Of the main advantages, it should be noted free connection Mobile Bank and increased accrual (up to 10%) of bonuses Thank you. For Premium + holders, it is possible to withdraw money from ATMs of all banking institutions without paying a commission.
• Momentum WORLD. The main advantage of plastic is instant free issue, as well as free service within 3 years.

Discounts on MIR cards

The bank joined the NSPK MIR loyalty program. In addition to the accrual of bonuses Thank you from Sberbank and the partner companies of the program, holders of plastics of the national payment system have another option to receive additional privileges.

This time the payment system itself was the initiator of the loyalty program. Now holders of MIR cards from Sberbank after connecting to this program will be able to receive double benefit... When paying with plastic, cardholders are credited with Thank you and cashback from NSPK partners. To participate, you need to register on the program website and link your plastic to personal account... Here are the organizations in the trade and service sector, where the plastic holder can receive cashback. The list of companies is constantly updated. For example, at the moment you can get the following discounts:

1. Supermarket chain "Perekrestok" - 5% refund of the cost of the check spent 1000 rubles.
2. In the retail network of Rosneft filling stations - 10% for a purchase of 1300 rubles or more.
3. Panasonic home appliances online store - 20% for any product.
4. In the section "Cafes and Restaurants" - 10% (Viet Café, Totopo, confectionery "Brusnika", "Geraldine", "Grand Cafe Dr. Zhivago", etc.)
5. In the section "Products for children" - 10% ("Pic'n'Mix", "The right toys").
6. Jewelry - 10% refund of the cost of any purchase in the 585 and 585 * Gold chains.

Conclusion

The launch of the national payment system has become an important event in the banking sector of the Russian Federation. Several card products have already been created, which in their parameters are not inferior to products of other payment systems.

National payment card Mir of the same name Russian payment system began to be issued in 2015 by Russian banks, providing its holders with independence from the work of international payment systems (MPS). As you know, MPS Visa and MasterCard in 2014 "distinguished themselves" by the fact that they stopped serving cards of a number of Russian banks, depriving customers of the opportunity to pay with their help for goods and services, and withdraw cash from ATMs.

Currently Bank card The world has the same functionality as the cards of the aforementioned MPS, and there is no need to worry about the possibility of accepting cards in various retail outlets, since it is stipulated at the legislative level that all banks must ensure the acceptance of national payment instruments from July 1, 2017. We will discuss in this article who is the guarantor of the uninterrupted functioning of the national card, where it can be obtained, and what will change for a Russian when it is used as a payment instrument.

National Payment Card System (NSPK) - operator of the "Mir" payment system

After the imposition of sanctions against Russia by the United States in March 2014, clients of some Russian banks (the account goes to hundreds of thousands of people) experienced them for themselves. First, Visa and MasterCard blocked operations with SMP Bank cards without prior notice, and then this fate affected a number of other banks. Such actions on the part of the Ministry of Railways were a clear threat to the financial system and economy of Russia, in connection with which in the same month the President of Russia approved the idea of ​​creating a national payment system to ensure the interests of the country, and in May he signed the federal law No. 112-FZ "On Amendments to the Federal Law" On the National Payment System "and certain legislative acts Russian Federation".

The consequence of this law was the creation in July 2014 of the National System of Payment Cards Joint Stock Company (NSPK), the main function of which was to ensure the efficient and uninterrupted provision of card payment services within the country. The NSPK was assigned the following tasks:

1. Creation of a payment infrastructure for processing all internal Russian transactions with cards of international payment systems within the Russian Federation;
2. Creation of a national payment system.

Transfer of all domestic card transactions inside Russia

The first task of the NSPK was to develop and test the appropriate infrastructure for the complete transfer to Russia of processing (processing operations) on cards of international payment systems issued Russian banks... The fact is that the chain of passage of a transaction during a card payment in a merchant (merchant) necessarily includes an intermediate link (data processing center), which is located between the acquiring bank (servicing payments in merchant within the service) and the bank - by the issuer (who issued the card). This link is the operator of the payment system, which plays a key role in the processing of transactions: all authorization requests (obtaining approval for a card operation) go through it.

If the processing center is located on the territory of another state, then any political aggravation of relations can lead to undesirable consequences, as happened between the United States and Russia. As part of the imposition of sanctions, the United States influenced the transnational IPS Visa and MasterCard, which are under the jurisdiction of the United States, and the latter blocked card transactions of some domestic banks.

It was after these events that Russian specialists began to develop from scratch all the necessary infrastructure for processing internal Russian transactions using cards of third-party payment systems, and made this the hardest job literally in 5 months with full compliance with modern safety standards of the Ministry of Railways. An operational and payment clearing center was created, which could perform the assigned task, "closing" all internal Russian operations within the Russian Federation.

For reference: the operations center performs the functions of exchanging electronic messages between all NSPK participants, and the payment clearing center ensures, within the framework of the payment system, the acceptance for execution of orders of its participants on the transfer Money(Funds are not debited from accounts immediately after payment for the goods, they are first, but at the end of the day there is a mutual settlement between banks).

Thus, in 2015, all domestic card transactions of the IPS Visa and MasterCard were processed on the territory (under the jurisdiction) of Russia (including in Crimea), and for the refusal of banks participating in the IPS to send requests for transactions with cards of other banks to the NSPK large fines were imposed (to foreign banks operating in the territory of the Russian Federation did not follow the sanctions and did not block requests from those banks on which the sanctions were imposed by a foreign state).

The danger of centralized blocking of card transactions within the Russian Federation from abroad has passed, but the risks of denial of service, despite high fines, still remain - a large number of credit institutions are "daughters" of foreign banks. Therefore, the second most important goal of the NSPK was to create a national payment system and a national payment card.

National payment system Mir

The creation in 2015 of the national payment system Mir (hereinafter referred to as the NPS) is an equally important step in the development of the economy and financial system countries that guarantee the uninterrupted operation of card transactions and one hundred percent independence from external sanctions. By the way, this “all-encompassing” name and logo appeared as a result of the All-Russian creative competition, the winner of which was Elena Sosnovskaya, a resident of Udmurtia.

NSPK is the operator of the Mir PS, having created an operational and clearing center based on Russian technologies. Another integral function is settlement center, performed by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (when using national payment instruments).

For reference: the settlement center ensures, within the framework of the payment system (PS), the execution of orders of the PS participants, debiting and crediting funds to the bank accounts of PS participants, as well as sending the corresponding confirmations.

The Mir payment card is issued by domestic banks on the basis of the Mir NPS. Thus, the Russians are offered (on a voluntary and compulsory basis) a completely domestic banking product. At the legislative level, it is enshrined (see Federal Law No. 88-FZ dated 01.05.2017 that:

• From July 1, 2017, the card will be issued to all public sector employees who open new bank accounts to receive budget payments(including salaries);
• From July 1, 2018, state employees who are already receiving payments will receive them on the Mir card (by this time, such persons should already have this card in their hands);
• Until July 1, 2020, all state employees will receive pensions and other social benefits from The Pension Fund Russia, including judges in this way, will receive monthly life support.

Bank card World. What is it and where can you get it in 2017?

What is this for a Russian?

First of all, the national bank card Mir is a payment instrument that can be used to pay for goods or services (for now) on the territory of Russia (including on the Internet), make transfers and withdraw money from ATMs. In Crimea, it will also be accepted for payment. A Russian paying within the Russian Federation will not notice any difference between plastic cards of well-known international payment systems and his new card. The only problem that may arise, at least at first, is that not all retail outlets will accept cards for payment.

There is no need to worry about large retail chains, they all already accept these cards. Such an obligation to accept national Mir cards for payment has arisen since 2017 for sellers whose revenue for the previous calendar year exceeds 40 million rubles (Article 1 of Law No. 88-FZ).

At the same time, the law exempts trading enterprises with annual revenues of less than 5 million rubles from such obligations, or if the merchant is located in a place where there is no cellular connection or no Internet access.

It is unlikely that small and medium sellers will ignore the possibility of accepting Mir cards - they will simply lose potential customers. Moreover, support for national payment instruments, as a rule, is achieved through flashing, installed by banks as part of the acquiring service. In addition, by July 1, 2017 (Article 2 of Law No. 88-FZ), all credit institutions are required to provide such support.

How to pay abroad?

There are two ways to pay abroad:

• Issue a Visa or MasterCard - they will also be issued by all banks (the law does not abolish the use of international cards on the territory of the Russian Federation);
• To issue a so-called joint card with international payment systems at the bank.

Now plastic cards "Mir" -Maestro (for example, in MTS-Bank and Gazprombank) and "Mir" -JCB (Gazprombank) are available. Co-badging projects with American Express and UnionPay are expected. Such plastic will work in Russia as a Mir card, and abroad it will be accepted in the international acceptance network Maestro or JCB.

Technical nuances

Russian banks currently can issue three types of Mir bank cards: classic, premium and debit.

The first two types can be credit and debit, and the last type is budget debit or prepaid (including unnamed). The cost of servicing each of them is determined by the issuing bank.

The first appearance of the family of national cards was accompanied by not the most flattering reviews: the holders talked about the absence of bonus programs (loyalty programs), cashback, functions (without it, the risks of losing their money when paying online increase). It was practically impossible to pay for plastic on the Internet. What is the current situation (mid-2017)?

The MirAccept technology, an analogue of 3D Secure, has been implemented, although not all banks support it yet (a matter of time). Find out about its support from your bank and pay attention to the presence of the corresponding logo on the website of the merchant. The technology has also been implemented contactless payment(analogue) - cards with this option are already issued by a number of banks (for example, SMP Bank, Moscow Industrial Bank, etc.).

As for loyalty programs, according to statements on the official website of the NPS, in the fall of 2017, holders will have access to a loyalty program from PS Mir, when up to 10-15% cashback will be returned to the card account in cash, and not bonus points... The program will be tested with several banks and retail outlets, and then all other PS participants will be included in it.

Nevertheless, already now in a number of banks there are various bonus programs, for example, Rosselkhozbank with a 5% refund when refueling at TNK and Rosneft gas stations, or SMP Bank with miles accrued, and so on. You can find a complete list of promotional programs on the PS official website: http://mironline.ru/.

According to reports from the official resource, the list of organizations and online stores that accept cards on the Internet is expanding.

Where can I get a card and pay with it?

Quite an impressive list of banks where you can get a card can be found on the official website in the "Participants" section.

Among them are Sberbank, VTB 24, Gazprombank, Alfa-Bank, Russia, etc. The list of banks issuing the card is constantly expanding - no one wants to be out of work and be late for the "distribution" when a huge number of state employees rush to issue plastic to receive payments. It is possible that for security reasons, and, in the end, patriotism, many people will issue cards as main or salary.

In the same section of the site, you can find a list of retail chains that accept the card for payment.

And using the Locator service, you can find all ATMs serving the Mir card in your locality.

On May 1, Vladimir Putin signed a law on transferring state employees to the Mir payment system. We present to your attention the answers to some questions regarding this card.

What kind of card is this anyway? Is this a bank?
Mir is a domestic payment system. It was decided to create it after, in 2014, Visa and MasterCard, without warning, blocked operations with cards of some Russian banks.

How do I know if I should receive a card? And how long does it take to do it?

State employees - civil servants, employees of state and municipal bodies, institutions, state extrabudgetary funds, citizens receiving state scholarships, pensioners and Russians receiving other social benefits.

All these citizens, with the exception of pensioners, must obtain a card before July 1, 2018. Otherwise, if the salary arrives, the client will be offered to open a new account with or without a Mir card, as well as to take the money in cash. If the recipient does not appear within 10 days, the money will be returned to the sender. Pensioners were not given a rigid framework. They can switch to Mir when their old card expires, but no later than July 1, 2020.

From July 1, banks will also start issuing new cards to those who apply for a "plastic" account for salaries.

What if I don’t want to start a card?

If you wish, you can refuse the payment system and receive money through the cashier. Also, it is not necessary to switch to the card for employees of diplomatic missions and consulates and Russian citizens permanently living abroad. Mir is not needed for lump sum payments or those that come less than once a year.

Let's take a closer look at the card itself. Do you have a credit card?

Yes. There are three types of "Peace". With a classic card, you can carry out transactions online and offline, using your own money or borrowed from a bank. Premium, in addition to the usual set of services, gives bonuses, premium support, cashback and free text messages from the bank. Debit allows you to make transactions only online.

The bank determines the price of servicing the cards. It is known to be lower than Visa or MasterCard. Services will be free for retirees.

But I am used to paying in stores with a card, and Mir is not accepted everywhere. What am I going to carry with me all the time?

Not necessary. Large stores are already starting to serve Mir. And after October 1, even small points where the annual revenue is above 40 million rubles will have to accept it.

What if I want to buy something online?

Everything is more complicated here. Internet sites, unlike others, were not obliged to accept Mir. It is known for sure that the card will be served by Aliexpress.

I am going to Thailand and do not want to take cash everywhere. Should I apply for a "visa" specifically for this?

Abroad, you can use the co-badging "Mir", that is joint card two payment systems, for example, "Mir-Maestro". Whether the bank issues such cards should be inquired with the organization itself.

AND last question: Where in my city can I get a card or withdraw money from it?

Today, 76 banks are already issuing the card, and by July 1 absolutely everyone in the country will start accepting it. You can find out if your bank has joined Mir in this section. There is also a card that will show where the payment system is accepted in your city.

How and why we were doomed to "Mir", which we do not need

Today, the State Duma made the final decision on the adoption of a bill on transferring state employees to the Mir salary cards. Thus, millions of people will be forced to switch to a crude system that was created literally in 2014. But the "World" cards have many disadvantages.

The "Peace" We Don't Deserve

So, at the first presentations of the import-substituting card, the press secretary of the operator of the national payment system - the NSPK company, Elena Bocharova, spoke about its undoubted advantages:

“The Mir card has the same functionality as the cards of other payment systems. At the same time, servicing Mir cards in banks is significantly cheaper than others, and one of the most important differences is that access to funds and the performance of transactions with them does not depend on work international systems».

At the same time, for issuing banks, of which today only 73 (out of 558 commercial banks registered as of April 1, 2017) have agreed to issue Mir cards, and 171 have agreed to accept the card on their devices. And this pleasure turned out to be not cheap - the issue is 1.5 times more expensive than the production of cards of international payment systems. So it turns out that the client is neither warm nor cold from such a "benefit" - the final price for the card issue remains the same.

Take, for example, Sberbank - it provides an opportunity to issue a Mir card, while the first year of service will cost 750 rubles, the next - 450 rubles. At the same time, the card does not provide for the issuance of additional cards, and you can return with “Thank you” bonuses only up to 10% of the purchase amount.

Compare with Visa cards or MasterCard - you will have to pay the same 750 rubles a year. (that is, for 3 years the "discount" on the Mir card will be only 600 rubles), and you can earn much more points - up to 50%.

Bocharova also stated that a unique loyalty program would operate on the Mir card.

“It doesn't matter which bank issued the card, the set of bonuses will be equally available to everyone. This is currently being developed; based on cashback, ”she said.

What exactly is the uniqueness of the loyalty program is not clear - all international payment systems also extend their programs to cards of any banks. If some discounts are valid only within the framework of one bank, then the loyalty program of this particular bank, and not the payment system, comes into operation.

Peace to you, state employees!

Although the final bill was formally adopted only today, the ground has been laid for it long ago. So, the head of VTB 24 bank Mikhail Zadornov at a conference on January 26 that the bank already has an agreed schedule with the NSPK and the Central Bank for the issue of cards for public sector clients.

“We have a clearly agreed schedule with the NSPK and the Central Bank for the sale of Mir cards to our clients; we have about one and a half million such clients, state employees. Last year we already issued and distributed about 400 thousand cards, even slightly ahead of this schedule. Now the full acceptance of Mir cards has been established in all terminals. And we are moving along this schedule. This year we will issue approximately 1 million 200, in the remaining 2 years we will issue about 1 million / 1 million 800 thousand cards, ”said Mikhail Zadornov, head of VTB 24 Bank.

That is, millions of people are literally forced to use a banking product that they may not like at all. For example, on April 18, VTsIOM published a study according to which the majority of Russian residents (70%) do not intend to open the Mir card yet. The survey data show that the share of respondents planning to issue a Mir payment card is 20%, and only 3% already have such a card.

Just as poor pensioners used to be transferred from Savings Books to bank cards, they will now be transferred from Maestro to Mir. And no one will ask them - maybe they don't want this?

For "Peace" throughout the world!

But these were all flowers. The main negative feature of the Mir card is that it can only be used within Russia. Although the name of the Russian card was given a very cosmopolitan one, you will not be able to pay it off abroad. The exception is the so-called co-badging cards that work with two payment systems. But their issue depends solely on the wishes of the banks, in addition, it is unlikely that any choice of card option will be given to the long-suffering state employees.

Moreover, there will also be difficulties with payment by card on the Internet. The card can be used to pay in those companies whose banks are members of the system. From foreign trading platforms Aliexpress will be the first to accept the World card. However, if you want to pay with your card in some small foreign shop, forget about it.

And Russian stores have not yet accepted Mir with bread and salt. Internet users point out that the presence of a company in the list of participants in the Mir system does not at all mean that the card will be accepted in a particular store. Problems may arise in Russian online stores, as there are default payment options. Visa systems, MasterCard or Yandex. Purse.

They intend to transfer Russian state employees to domestic bank cards "Mir", but users say that it is not fully ready.

To bookmarks

Photo by Andrey Gordeev, Vedomosti

Conversations about "Peace"

On January 18, Kommersant, citing its sources that the largest banks in Russia opposed the forced transfer of state employees to the Mir card of the National Payment System, and are going to write a letter to the Central Bank. Later, "Interfax" this information, stating that the bankers did not oppose the Russian card, and did not intend to write letters to the Central Bank.

However, workers budgetary sphere fear that they will be forcibly transferred to its use. TJ figured out what the National Payment System is, how it has shown itself during its existence, and what people who have had time to personally try Mir think about it.

How "Mir" appeared

The Russian payment system Mir was conceived as a domestic alternative to international services Visa and MasterCard in 2014, when Western payment systems serve a number of Russian banks that have come under US Treasury sanctions.

Then a package of amendments to the draft law "On the National Payment System" began to be prepared, which was to close the process of implementation remittances inside Russia.

July 23, 2014 was created joint-stock company"National System of Payment Cards" (JSC NSPK), owned by the Central Bank RF (100% of shares). Issue of the national payment card "Mir" is one of the main tasks of the NSPK. In 2016, they planned to release 30 million units.

As of January 19, 2017, Mir is issued by 177 banks, and by January 19, 2017, a little more than two million of them have been created.

Screenshot of the official page of the Mir payment system

Budget "Mir"

On December 22, 2016, a bill was submitted to the State Duma, the final goal of which was the transfer of Russian public sector employees to the national payment system. In addition to issuing to state employees salary cards"Mir" as mandatory by January 1, 2018, the national cards will have to transfer pensions, social benefits and other budget payments.

The proposal to transfer state employees to Mir cards was criticized by both independent experts and government departments. The National Payment Association of Russia (a non-profit that assists in the development of the market for electronic payments and money transfers) a review of the amendments, in which it indicated that in the event of the compulsory introduction of the Mir card, banks will open separate accounts for them.

If the client wants to dispose of the money at his own discretion and binds other means of payment to the account, banks will have to prohibit the transfer of personal funds to it. The NPA expressed concern that in this case, citizens would prefer to withdraw cash, rather than pay directly with a card. Pensioners will completely return to the method of delivering pensions through the postman.

On January 18, the FAS also opposed the proposal of legislators. According to the regulator, the transfer of budget payments to Mir cards may lead to a restriction of competition in the payment system market and an infringement of the rights of citizens. The same opinion was expressed by experts interviewed by the Kommersant newspaper.

Chairman of the Committee on financial market Anatoly Aksakov, who is one of the co-authors of the bill, said that the claims of banks and participants in the payment market arose due to the fact that they understood the law on the national payment system in their own way.

Already during the development of the bill, we understood that questions would arise related to the fact that transactions on the accounts of state employees would only be possible with Mir cards.

However, the requirement that all funds of state employees should go to Mir was still in the law adopted in 2014. Now the bill only specifies the requirement. Prior to the appearance of the text of the amendments, banks and international systems understood the law in their own way, hoping to issue national cards only "in load" to the cards of international systems, which are already used by state employees.

Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the Financial Market Committee, in an interview with the Vedomosti newspaper

Obligatory transfer of state employees to the national payment system was not supported even by state Sberbank... As its leader German Gref at the economic forum in Davos, there must be competition to provide quality services. However, the head of Sberbank noted that the creation of the Russian payment system was an important step towards minimizing risks similar to those that arose in 2014 due to the sanctions.

How the "World" has changed

Testing of the card at the beginning of 2016 was published by RBC, calling it a "souvenir for patriots" according to the results. Journalists of the business edition noted that despite the cosmopolitan name, Mir can only be linked to ruble accounts, and accordingly, cards can be used only on the territory of Russia.

The exception is co-badging cards that work with two payment systems at the same time. In 2016, only Gazprombank had plans to issue such Mir-Maestro cards, and the banks have not yet been indicated on the official website of the national card.

At the same time, the RBC correspondent noted that it was not easy to spend money using a national card. The bank that issued it recommended that they inquire about the possibility of receiving Mir at each outlet individually.

In the summer of 2016, use the Mir card for a week, the correspondent of the Delovoy Peterburg newspaper. He noted that it is possible to pay with a card, but purchases turn into an "exciting quest" during which one can remain confident only having cash with him.

An employee of the publication noted that the national card began to be accepted in catering places and supermarkets, although not in all. But in bookstores and clothing stores in the summer of 2016, the card, according to the journalist, was not serviced.

In June 2016, Vladimir Komlev, Chairman of the Board of the National Payment Card System, in an interview “ Russian newspaper"That by the end of 2016" practically the entire infrastructure where you can use cards of other payment systems will be opened for Mir cards as well. "

Speaking about the advantage over other payment systems, Komlev said that Mir cards will have "all kinds of transport, fuel applications, identification applications for accessing government services."

Most of all, we believe in the implementation of a nationwide loyalty system. And we are making a product that is unique for the whole world, when any trade and service enterprises will be able to post their offers on promotions and preferences for all Mir cardholders on a single portal for the country.

Vladimir Komlev, Chairman of the Board of the National Payment Card System

On January 18, 2017, the media reported that the NSPK is working on accepting national plastic cards in Europe and the United States, but specific agreements have not yet been given.

In the future, Vietnam, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Thailand can take part in the creation of a single payment space with Russia. Similar negotiations are underway with Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Abkhazia

What do users of "Mir" say

More than one comment thread on the page of the Banki.Ru news agency is devoted to stories about the pros and cons of using the national card. On the portal's forum, a separate section is devoted to the minuses of "Mir".

In recent comments, users have several main complaints about it: the forced imposition of the system on state employees, a limited number of outlets where the card is accepted for payment, the lack of special services inherent in international payment systems (PayPass, MoneySend), the lack of insurance and concierge services.

Another disadvantage of Mir is that the cost of its annual service is comparable to the cards of international payment systems, but not comparable to the number of services provided.

Of the advantages, again, the factor is called that the cards are tied to the national payment system and are independent of sanctions. The same argument is given as the main one on the official map. It also states that “to guarantee the safety of cards, the most modern technologies”, But this is where the list of card advantages ends.

If we talk not about payment, but about withdrawing cash, then by the end of 2016, 89 banks are preparing their ATMs for the issuance of funds using the Mir card. At the same time, the plans stated that in the first quarter of 2017, 100% of POS terminals would be ready to accept national cards for payment in retail outlets.

On the official website of the project, neither ATMs, nor offices, nor terminals for depositing cash in Moscow and the Moscow region were displayed. The map showed zero available devices.

Follow the links in the infographics on the official website to find the location of ATMs or stores that accept the national payment card, also failed. The links only talked about what an ATM or a payment terminal in a store is.

Screenshot from the official website of the Mir payment system

In defense of the Mir card, on banking forums, users expressed the fact that the national payment system is already competing with Visa and MasterCard, which have existed for decades, although so far only in the domestic market.

The government is not going to give up the idea of ​​transferring state employees to Mir. As on January 18 in the "Parlamentskaya Gazeta", the deadlines for the transfer of budget payments to national system will not be postponed.

The Chairman of the Financial Market Committee Anatoly Aksakov again spoke in defense of Mir. He stated that banks simply do not want to burden themselves with unnecessary obligations, and therefore may hinder the introduction of a national payment system. Aksakov also suggested that international payment services could hinder the spread of Mir.

Nevertheless, according to him, when it comes to "the strategic security of the financial and credit system and its protection from external influences", there can be no talk of postponing these measures.