Two more commercial banks of Kyrgyzstan – Optima Bank and Bai Tushum – have stopped operations with cards of the Mir payment system, according to their websites. Thus, already 9 out of 23 banks in the country refused to accept cards of this system.
Bai Tushum Bank in a statement also notified customers about the suspension of servicing Mir cards.
Only in September in Kyrgyzstan, the Bank of Asia, Halyk Bank, Demir Bank, Kyrgyzstan, Companion, Bakai Bank, State Aiyl Bank and Doskredobank announced their refusal to work with Mir cards. Now Mir cards continue to be accepted by five banks: RSK Bank, Kapital Bank, Keremet Bank, Tolubay Bank, Kyrgyzkommertsbank.
Problems with the Russian payment system began after threats from the United States and the EU against Turkey, whose largest banks have stepped up work with the Mir system. Also, Mir cards were no longer accepted by banks in Armenia, Kazakhstan and Vietnam. Banks began to abandon Mir after Western countries warned that the risks of secondary sanctions outweighed the benefits of cooperation. However, in Turkey, banks are trying to avoid sanctions while continuing to accept cards bypassing. So, by the end of September, banks officially finally stopped working with Mir cards, however, Izvestia, citing representatives of companies and participants in the tourism market, reported that hotels continue to accept cards, despite the threat of sanctions from the US and EU. But now transactions go through little-known companies that accompany payments in Turkish outlets to Russian banks.