Apple Pay plugs loophole that let Russians pay with Mir cards

Apple has notified the National Payment Card System (NSPK) that it is suspending support for Mir cards in the Apple Pay payment service, reports Tass.

Moscow: The iPhone maker has announced that Apple Pay will no longer support Russian card payment system Mir. Several Russians used Mir to bypass the Apple ban in the country after the Ukraine invasion.

Apple has notified the National Payment Card System (NSPK) that it is suspending support for Mir cards in the Apple Pay payment service, reports Tass.

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“Apple informed NSPK that it is suspending support for Mir cards in the Apple Pay payment service. Since March 24, loading new Mir cards into the service has become unavailable. Previously loaded cards will be stopped by Apple over the next few days,” the company said.

Mir is owned by the Central Bank of Russia and makes up around 32 per cent of all new cards issued in the country.

Apple notified Sberbank of the suspension of further use of Mir payment system cards in the Apple Pay electronic wallet.

Bank customers using Android-based smartphones will still be able to pay by phone via SberPay (Android NFC).

Google is also taking steps to cut ties with Mir.

The tech giant reportedly paused a pilot programme that let users connect their Mir cards to Google Pay.

“Google Pay is pausing payments-related services in Russia as a result of payment services disruption out of our control,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement to Wall Street Journal.

Many Russian users have been cut off from Apple Pay and Google Pay as part of the wider economic sanctions on Russia in the wake of Ukraine invasion.

Earlier this month, Visa and MasterCard suspended their operations in Russia.