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Russia, Iran finalize integration of national payment systems — Iran’s Central Bank head

Bank cards of Iran’s Shetab system can be used as Amber smart cards in all ATMs across Russia

© Fotokon/Shutterstock/FOTODOM

DUBAI, July 6. /TASS/. Moscow and Tehran have finalized integration of Russia’s Mir and Iran’s Shetab payment systems, Iranian Central Bank Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin said.

"During the meeting, the sides finalized the requirements to connect Russia’s Mir payment system to Iran’s Shetab and this project has entered the operational phase," Farzin said upon his return from St. Petersburg, where he had held talks with Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina. The IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.

Farzin said that in the first state, which kicks off on August 22, "bank cards of Iran’s Shetab system can be used as Amber smart cards in all ATMs across Russia and Iranian citizens will be able to withdraw rubles from the Russian ATMs using their cards."

"The second stage [involves the possibility of] paying with Russian citizens’ cards in Iran," Farzin said, adding that in the third stage, Iranians will be able to pay with a Shetab card in Russian stores via an ordinary bank terminal.

In April 2024, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that the project to use Mir cards had entered the implementation stage. In May 2022, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that the countries were discussing how to connect the Mir and Shetab payment systems.

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