Tehran – The payment network between Iranians and Russians was connected on May 13th. This allows Russian citizens to shop from Iran’s shopping terminals using meal wage applications, said Asgal Aborasani Hastiani, Lieutenant Governor of Iran’s Central Bank.
The application will provide a safe shopping experience in other countries, he said, Isna reported.
He addressed the second stage announcement ceremony that links Russia’s miR payment network with Iran’s Shettab payment system, noting that the project is a major measure towards increasing financial cooperation.
He explained that it was designed in three phases. The first stage was successful in promoting financial transactions between citizens of both countries, he said. The first phase offers the possibility of using Iranian bank cards under Shettab network in Russian ATMs for tourists.
In this way, he pointed out that now Iranian tourists can easily receive ruble notes from Russian ATMs using the rial balance of Shetubcard.
He said the third phase of the project is progressing.
He expressed his hope that the project would improve the shopping experience for both citizens of both countries. Moreover, he said it could be seen as a model for regional international economic cooperation.
At the same rally, Nooshafarin Momen Vaghefi, Lieutenant Governor of Iran’s Central Bank of IT Technology Affairs, said that since the project was implemented, nearly 2 million bank withdrawals have been carried out by 100,000 Iranian users in Russia.
In the second phase of the project, destinations for Russian tourists were identified with the cooperation of the Ministry of Tourism, she said.
The MiR Pay application can be used by Russian tourism at 165,000 spots across Iranian tourist cities, which can be seen in the Shaparak Information Database, she added.
The integration of the banking subsystems of both countries is a major step towards creating integrated economic cooperation in the region, completing the decooperative process and promoting economic and tourism relations between Iran and Russia.
By connecting the national payment networks of both countries, the boundaries of electronic payments are removed, and a new chapter begins with the economic and cultural cooperation of the two countries.
In April 2024, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that a project using MIR cards had entered the implementation stage. In May 2022, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the countries were discussing how they could connect MIR and Shetab’s payment system.
Iran and Russia have taken serious measures over the past few years to boost mutual trade.
KD