BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 4. Halyk Bank, CenterCredit Bank, Freedom Finance Bank, Bereke Bank, and VTB Bank continue to service the Russian 'Mir' ('World') card amid US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions related to Russia's banking sector, Madina Abilqasymova, Chairman of Kazakhstan's Agency for Regulation and Development of Financial Market, said during a media briefing, Trend reports via the Kazakh media.
'Mir' is a Russian card payment system for electronic fund transfers established by the Central Bank of Russia.
Previously, OFAC announced that it would impose sanctions on any financial institution outside Russia using 'Mir' payment cards. According to the agency's chairman, since it was important to ensure the banking activities of Russian citizens living in Kazakhstan, the abovementioned Kazakh organizations officially applied to the OFAC for permission to continue servicing 'Mir' cards on the territory of Kazakhstan, and such permission was granted.
As the agency's chairman noted, the US Department of the Treasury did not make any recommendations for Kazakh banks to stop using Russian payment systems.
Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, Russia's 'Mir' payment cards have been blocked. Many banks in several countries stopped operating the cards amid warnings to adhere to international sanctions against Moscow.