The Mir card operator stopped paying banks for its promotion

RBC writes about NSPK’s reduced marketing budget, citing sources in the banks. The NSPK confirmed the review of the approach to marketing and incentive programs.

One of the interlocutors of the publication said that the banks no longer have the budget that NSPK allocated for the promotion of Mir cards: “Representatives of the payment system openly said that they do not need it now, since there is no competition in the market. .” Now the banks themselves will bear the costs.

The budget was usually allocated to the promotion of new products – Mir cards of various categories. The money went to advertising, sponsorship of promotions for loyalty programs, ticket giveaways and more.

The Mir card operator – NSPK – was created in 2014 following the sanctions for the annexation of Crimea by Russia in case the Russian Federation disconnected the cards from international payment systems. The first Mir cards were issued in 2015.

In March 2022, after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine, the international payment systems Visa and Mastercard, which held the leading shares in the Russian payment market, left Russia. The maps of these systems continued to function within the country, but under the control of the NSPK.

Of the payment systems in Russia, Mir is now working, as well as the Chinese UnionPay cards, which are issued by a limited number of banks.