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Sberbank reuses bank card chips to fight shortage

Friday 8 July 2022 15:11 CET | News

Russia-based Sberbank has started removing chips from un-activated cards to combat shortage after European suppliers halted deliveries based on EU sanctions imposed on the country amid the ongoing Ukraine invasion.

The harsh economic sanctions imposed on the country caused a mass-chain of disruptions and have significantly impacted Russia’s access to certain goods, with bans on advanced technology being one of the most important.

The National Card Payment System (NSPK) has announced in April 2022 that there weren’t enough card chips to meet the country’s demand for issuing home-grown Mir banking cards, as European chip suppliers refused to work with sanctioned Russian banks. Moreover, with major card issuers like Mastercard and Visa suspending their operations across the country, the Moscow Government was not left with many solutions. 

By reusing chips from un-activated cards, Mir has managed to save over USD 15 million, as 375,000 cards remain un-activated each month.

The NSPK has also turned to Chinese companies for supplies of microprocessors, amid the same sanctions imposed by Western governments and companies. 


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Keywords: Russia Ukraine War, financial sanctions, credit card, debit card, card scheme
Categories: Payments & Commerce
Companies:
Countries: Russian Federation
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Payments & Commerce