Russia Turns to China for Microchips for In-demand Domestic Bank Cards

Russia Turns to China for Microchips for In-demand Domestic Bank Cards
The logo of MIR payment system at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on June 2, 2021. Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters
Reuters
Updated:
0:00

Russia is turning to microchip manufactures in China to circumvent western sanctions which have boosted demand for bank cards linked to the Mir payment system, an executive with the domestic payment system said.

Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine have cut Moscow off the global financial system and from nearly half of its $640 billion in gold and foreign exchange reserves.