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Russia to issue 30mn national payment cards in 2016 – CBR head

BY I M POWER / SUNDAY, 16 AUGUST 2015 / PUBLISHED IN ABSOLUTE DATA
Russia to issue 30mn national payment cards in 2016 – CBR head


Russia is ready for the mass issue of national payment cards next year, as it seeks to detach from the Western-dominated financial system and distance itself from geopolitical risks, said the head of the Central Bank at a meeting with the president.
Twenty banks have already confirmed their attendance in a pilot issuance planned for December, said Elvira Nabiullina Monday at the meeting with Vladimir Putin to report the results of the Russian banking sector in the first half 2015.

The Mir payment system, launched in 2014 and branded in 2015, will have to conquer the 230 million-card Russian market.

READ MORE: Russia should move to the national payment card this year – Putin

“This is a card that works as a national payment card, Mir, in Russia, but at the same time it can work abroad as a MasterCard, American Express etc. – so that people will feel comfortable and not worry if they want to buy something abroad or to travel somewhere,” Nabiullina said.

The first step was made when an operational and clearing center was set up. Domestic operations made using international payment systems are now processed in this center, she added.

The Russian National Payment Card System (NPCS) announced the issuance of co-badging cards with JCB of Japan in July. The card will work as Nabiullina described – as a Mir card in Russia and JCB abroad.

Another stepping stone to becoming more economically independent – a national rating agency – was also discussed at the meeting.

Putin backed the agency, launched in July by the CBR board of directors.

“I remember our discussion with the European Commission’s former executives, how they resented the actions of our American partners, saying that the assessments from international (read as American) rating agencies, are not objective,” said Putin.

Russia’s rating agency to start by year end – Central Bank
he Russian rating agency is expected to start work in the fourth quarter of 2015, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) said, adding that its initial capital would be at about $52 million (3 bilion rubles).

“… credit rating agencies are one of the most important elements of the financial market infrastructure. Their activities must be stable to various factors, including geopolitical risks,” the CBR said in a statement Friday.

READ MORE: Putin inks law on rating agencies’ activities in Russia

“Russian market needs a strong credit rating agency with a high level of corporate governance and professional competence,” the statement said. It added that the new agency will have to meet the interests of the economy and have a good reputation for both Russian and foreign investors.

The agency will be headed by Ekaterina Trofimova, the vice president of major Russian state-owned bank Gazprombank. The lender says Trofimova will stay with Gazprombank despite her new appointment.

The agency plans to become self-funding in the next 3-5 years and enter foreign markets in the future, according to Trofimova. A pool of investors has developed and applications will be accepted from next week.

“At the initial stage, the agency will work in the Russian domestic market, but plans to gradually enter other markets, firstly the Eurasian Economic Union,” she said.

The question of cooperation with China’s Dagong rating agency was not discussed, she added.

Nabiullina said the project would be market-regulated, without the Central Bank’s financial participation. The agency’s initial capital would be at about $52 million. Each participant’s share will be no more than 5 percent so that no kingpin can dominate its policy. The agency is expected to make its first assessments in the middle of the next year, she added.

READ MORE: Russia’s downgrade by Western ratings agencies ‘politicized’ – Dagong boss

The CBR has denied earlier reports it would be a shareholder in the new national rating agency, saying it would be against federal law.

Companies wishing to have a share in the agency have apply by August 28, says the head of Rosbank Dmitry Olyunin. The list of founding shareholders is not closed, he added.

The head of Russia’s smaller lender Binbank, Mikhail Shishkhanov, who took part in a CBR meeting Friday, said each founder of the national rating agency will receive no more than a 5 percent stake.

Russia’s second largest bank VTB and one of the country’s biggest insurers Rosgosstrakh said they would take part in establishing the new rating agency.

Earlier TASS reported the agency could have more than 20 stakeholders.

Currently Russia has a number of local rating agencies that are not internationally recognized. The list includes RusRating, Expert RA, the National rating agency and AK&M.

Last Tuesday President Putin signed a law regulating the activity of ratings agencies in Russia, as discontent over ‘politicized’ actions of the Western ‘Big Three’ – S&P, Moody’s and Fitch – has grown.

The BRICS countries are also discussing setting up a rating agency. Russia and China planned to launch a new Universal Credit Rating Group (UCRG) in 2015, but market participants said talks have stumbled due to political reasons.

SOURCE (http://i-uv.com/russia-to-issue-30mn-national-payment-cards-in-2016-cbr-head/)

It also is introducing its own credit rating agency too. Both moves mean that in the future Russia will not only ben independent of the western controlled banking and economic systems, but I suspect the infrastructure will become used by other nations also wishing to escape the clutches of the US dominance and dollar hegemony.

Having started the Ukraine war and imposing sanctions, the US has sown the seeds of their own future demise in regards to control of the world's banking system. Such is the consequence of the abuse of power imo.

good move, about time.

Putting all the general Anti US propaganda BS in the statement aside ...

About 50% of all payments into Russia are still outside SWIFT/BIC since years and must be done by fax order etc. because Russian Banks still do not use! The rest of 50% are those payments done to Western banks having offices in Russia and where Russian companies have a bank account. These payment must be done with including BIC/SWIFT further by law ... and if not, these banks will loose licenses in the USA. So you can imagine that they will more closing their Russian branch as too loose the US market.

So at least a big statement and ridiculous announcement for nothing!

P.S.

Personally I'm not happy with the by the US full controlled SWIFT/BIC system ... no miss-understanding.

no one will trust it.....because it is russian

Russia put in a national 'Swift' system when sanctions were applied for fear they would be cut off, and it's been working on an international one since then. The international one would not be using the American dollar, but local currencies. One currency would go into the system, and the currency of the receiving country would come out at the other end.

This of course would be harmful to the dollar as an international currency, but the dollar can't be cut off entirely without finding another standard to take its place. One of the problematic aspects to the US other than the eventual demise of the dollar, is that without the dollar, funds cannot be traced so sanctions cannot be applied.

Russia's intent, is to cut itself and the Brics off from the Western economic system so nations won't be vulnerable to Washington's whim. If successful, it will split the world in half.

As for the credit ratings, they have been politicized so as to harm Russia's economy, and the economies of any nation going against Washington's interests. So they are not reflecting a true value. For example China's credit agency has shown a way different outlook towards Russia than the three major agencies in the West.

it will be run by Putin, so it will be untrustworthy

As opposed to the western banking system, which is owned and operated by the most greedy criminals on the planet. Yea, real trustworthy.

I wonder if Putin will do what the US government did and use the new Russian banking system to bail out plutocrats after they destroy the global economy for multiple years.

Russian banking system will likely bail out crooks, thieves, liars, cheats, and the rest of Putin's relatives.

Then there's little difference between the Russian system and the US system. They both exist to serve plutocratic criminals. Americans should probably fix their own system before they worry about criticizing Russia.

i couldnt agree more about the western banking system but that comment is irrelevant pointless and a pitiful attempt at more rusky slight of hand. trying to change the subject doesnt alter the fact that putin is plain untrustworthy.

we have the freedom to criticize as we wish. the difference is we try to improve our banking system, russia sets their banking system up to steal.

Oh then it's not to protect themselves from Washington's manipulations? Interesting!

I am sure you think anyone who points out the hypocrisy and phoniness of westerners is a Rusky.

You keep telling yourself that.

Study: US is an oligarchy, not a democracy (http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746)

James Risen: Obama hates the press (http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2014/10/james-risen-obama-hates-the-press-196641.html)

USA Today’s Susan Page: Obama administration most ‘dangerous’ to media in history (https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2014/10/27/usa-todays-susan-page-obama-administration-most-dangerous-to-media-in-history/)

Journalists criticize White House for 'secrecy' (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/83d07710b383418999aada7c414a3f7a/journalists-criticize-white-house-secrecy)

CBS News confirms Sharyl Attkisson's computer hacked (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-confirms-sharyl-attkissons-computer-hacked/)

Reporter Sharyl Attkisson says feds hacked computer, CBS protected Obama (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/28/reporter-sharyl-attkisson-says-feds-hacked-compute/)

Pruitt: DOJ broke rules in phone records seizure (http://news.yahoo.com/pruitt-doj-broke-rules-phone-records-seizure-172402972.html)

Justice Department’s scrutiny of Fox News reporter James Rosen in leak case draws fire (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/justice-departments-scrutiny-of-fox-news-reporter-james-rosen-in-leak-case-draws-fire/2013/05/20/c6289eba-c162-11e2-8bd8-2788030e6b44_story.html)

No-fly zone near Ferguson protests were meant "to keep media out" (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/no-fly-zone-near-michael-brown-ferguson-protests-were-meant-to-keep-media-out/)

I always presumed Russia used Webmoney primarily
But this payment system will be helpful to them for intergrating their own credit cards to get rid of the Visa American Express Mastercard monopoly. (Sort of)
http://rbth.com/business/2015/04/02/visa_and_mastercard_join_russias_national_card_payment_system_44955.html

The international payment systems joined Russia’s newly-created National Card Payment System on April 1 in what can be considered the first step towards the creation of an autonomous financial system in Russia.

According to Khestanov, processing Visa transactions through the national system should be viewed as a compromise: The Russian government's control of the transactions will strengthen, but the international systems will continue to operate in Russia.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebMoney

"The idea of establishing a national payment card was not a direct result of the sanctions,” said Dmitry Bedenkov, head of the analytical department at Russ-Invest. “Although the activation of the process began after the introduction of sanctions, this topic had been discussed to varying degrees earlier. The transition to a sanctions regime just increased the relevance of creating domestic payment systems," he said.

 - http://rbth.com/business/2015/06/03/russia_unveils_new_national_payment_card_mir_46615.html)

no but this does not make it more trustworthy, also everything done by russian look shady and confusing and they do not know what they want, like when they banned bitcoin and now they unbanned it

Good news for Russia

what you are sure of is what putin tells you to be sure of....and no more.

Here is something interesting...which might or might not be connected to the establishment of an alternate financial system. Kerry said that if the sanctions on Iran were not removed it would mean war. From what I read, he was referring to the destruction of the dollar. Would it be because Russia and the other nations will trade with Iran in means which cannot be traced?

lol...let's see if anyone accepts their debit cards,

As usual, your opinion is baseless and irrelevant.

The banking cartel effectively owns western governments and uses their sovereign powers to oppress and exploit the masses. Part of that system of oppression and exploitation is the ability to keep tabs on the financial lives of the people. Therefore, any financial arrangement that helps people to hide their finances from the government they violently oppose.

Oh, so all those Americans are on the Putin payroll? Interesting!

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR9_7yynk8N0fb3j7RxNqo_scnaClTGlHDrHXxz3L6C4rdTIuCYDAHee, hee, hee!

Why not?
I faced with cases in Germany when Visa was not acceptable and I had to use cash.

before it ends US.

I don't know how the US dollar can be destroyed, unless there is some other currency to base their value on. This is probably why the markets are playing havoc with gold. To keep it from replacing the dollar as standard.

Craig Roberts said something interesting in one of his posts. He said something to the effect that Washington outsmarted Russia, and kept the dollar intact by telling Germany and Japan to start to print their own money. I don't know that much about economics, so my interpretation might be wrong.

As for any poster who thinks that Russia's credit card will not be respected, failed to notice it will be combined with Japan's. 

you arent making sense.

Russian financial institutions cannot be trusted.

If you don't trust - just don't use them.
I think we'll be able go through that

Considering that every modern war has really in secret been primarily about control of central banks, moves like this are going to put a big target on Russia.

The funniest thing in this story is that two American companies - Visa and Mastercard - occupied about 97% of Russian market of plastic cards. And the US government with its "sanctions" made Russian authorities to create its own plastic card Mir with its own processing centre. No doubts after the new card Mir will become usable the next step will be pushing out Visa and Mastercard from Russia, as this is vital for any new business to have essential part of market. Russian government will use all leverages to gain most of Russian plastic cards' market for Mir card.

Thanks to the US government, finally we'll have our own cards.

Yes well its hard to break the bank. Hitler tried, Kennedy intended, lincoln intended; and we saw how that turned out.


Jackson succeeded, and survived an assassination attempt. Mind you the bank of Lincoln and Jacksons days was a different crowd, but kennedy and Hitlers adversaries were more closely related.

They are all the same though. All fraudster crooks keeping us enslaved with an illegal con.
d I

If Russia kicked out Visa and MasterCard, the West will refuse these silly Russian cards.

No, won't refuse. Tens of thousands of foreigners have business in Russia, they won't carry money in pants, and will use the Russian cards...

Thanks to the US Russia will become self sufficient in almost everything, and they hope someday to feed the world.

Swell idea, why didn't Zimbabwe think of that? Cause we all know, all it takes for a failed corrupt autocratic economy is to create its own national payment card (not accepted anywhere in the world), it's own SWIFT (not recognized by anyone) and its own rating agency (with the reputation similar to that of Pravda and RT) and right away all problems will disappear and they will become the financial capital of the world LOL

Of all the already failed Putin's undertakings, this sounds like the most idiotic.

First the Russian govt. would have to care about the world.

Which they do not.

They only care about their Czarist interests.

Zimbabwe thinks about it because Ukraine wants to export for them - cucumbers!

In 2010, President Medvedev said that in the future the ruble will become a world currency, now these words no one takes seriously. Russia will become part of the global world.

Sounds nice except that a JCB card is nearly useless in Europe or America, and totally unheard of in Africa. Russians travelers will still need a Visa or a MC if they want to pay with a credit card outside of Russia or Asia. This is what the Japanese do...