Russia Tells Visa and Mastercard to Finally Leave as Market Share Plummets Below 17%

The statements by Alla Bakina, Director of the Bank of Russia’s National Payment System Department, are supported by the low adoption of these cards in the Russian Federation, which stands at less than 17%. Mir Cards and other payments have substituted Mastercard and Visa.

While Mastercard and Visa hold more than three-quarters of the international credit card market, the two companies announced their exit from the Russian market in 2022, in compliance with global sanctions.

Bakina also revealed that Visa’s and Mastercard’s share in the payments market had been reduced to less than 17%. “The people had a sizable number of cards but the share of these instruments declined in the market during four-five years. The banks are performing the gradual substitution by other instruments, including Mir cards,” she declared.

“Our payment market continues to demonstrate its resilience and a high level of adaptation to all the challenges facing our economy, society and economic entities. We see that the share of cashless payments remains at a consistently high level,” Bakina concluded.

Nevertheless, this does not mean that these companies will be expelled from the country. Head of the Center for Regional Policy Development, Ilya Grashchenkov, stated that this will likely result in a “calm phased transition – without loss of funds, without payment disruptions, and without the need to urgently rush to the bank.”

In addition, Stolypin Institute for Growth Economics expert Sergey Vasilkovsky believes the measure will improve the safety of the national payment system, as Visa and Mastercard cards that still operate in the country are operating beyond their expiration, justifying a transition to Mir cards.