Mir card operator started registration of Papayya payment brand

The application states that NSPK plans to use the Papayya name for biometric identification cards, with magnetic code, for payment terminals (IKGS class 9), for the issuance of traveler’s checks and credit cards, online banking services ( class 36), digital data encryption services (grade 42).

The NSPK press service informed RB.RU that an application has been submitted to register a trademark for an existing technological product.

“NSPK partners (banks and other financial organizations) are already using this solution by developing their own payment services to allow users to pay for goods and services with tokenized Mir cards,” said a representative of the organization.

Meanwhile, RB.RU could not find any mention of this service in open sources.

Creative director “Names Office” Vadim Dunaev believes we may be talking about registering a trademark for a new payment service.

Technical director of the business bank “Blank” Kirill Bantukov suggested that registering a new trademark could mean several things:

“On the one hand, it could be the launch of a new cross-border transfer system similar to Zolotaya Korona, Contact, WesternUnuion and others. Obviously, the further they advance, the more pressure there will be on them and this niche will be freed up for new players. On the other hand, from the description of the application. [следует, что] NSPK is preparing to launch its own universal acquiring terminals and payment labels, like MTS, Sberbank, Alfa and other players to independently provide acquiring services to companies. And in this field the state company will compete with other market players.”

Bringing a new retail brand to a market where a Mir card already exists could be “a shot in the knee”, he believes founder of the “Credcheck” service Elman Mehdiyev. “But judging from the writing and color scheme, the target audience is outside the circulation area of ​​the Mir card. And taking into account the debates about the “payment card for tourists”, the registration of this brand in the NSPK seems not only logical, but also a necessary step for such a product,” the expert concluded.

Rospatent published the application on May 21. According to the Whois service, the papayya.ru domain was also registered on May 21, 2024. The administrator of the domain is the Orquidea Limited organization (it has no formal connection with NSPK).

• The National Payment Card System is the operator of Mir cards, the operational and payment clearing center of the Faster Payment System. The NSPK was created by the Russian authorities in 2014 following the introduction of a series of sanctions against Russia. The only shareholder of NSPK is the Bank of Russia.
• In the summer of 2023, the State Duma adopted a law allowing foreign tourists to pay with Mir cards in Russia. In February 2024, banks began issuing cards for foreigners on a trial basis, writes Rossiyskaya Gazeta. After Russia’s exit from international payment systems, foreign cards issued by non-Russian banks technically cannot be accepted for payments at Russian points of sale. Therefore, foreign tourists can only pay in cash in Russia.