Tickets
Hotels
Tours
Insurance
TrainsInternational payment systems Mastercard and Visa joined the anti-Russian sanctions, and this immediately and primarily affected tourists and travelers. After all, it's no secret that these are the largest payment systems, whose cards are accepted in almost all corners of our planet. Russia was no exception, and therefore domestic banks actively issued cards of these systems, so that even with a ruble account in the bank, such a card could be paid during foreign travel and Recreation, book hotels and flights on foreign sites.
This did not affect domestic tourism in any way, because we have our own national payment system "Mir", which works well in the Russian Federation. In addition, all Mastercard and Visa cards continue to work fully throughout Russia, so there are no difficulties for domestic tourism, and you will not feel any restrictions at all.
But what to do if you are among the lucky ones who can go on a trip abroad. We have prepared for you some tips on how to act in this situation:
Get the Mir card
Cards of the Russian national payment system "Mir" are now actively issued by almost all Russian banks, and those that do not yet issue will do so in the near future. These cards work successfully in Belarus, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Turkey, Vietnam, Cyprus. True, not all ATMs support working with Mir cards, but in tourist places you will find them without problems. "Mir" is also accepted in many shops, restaurants, etc., but in some places they will not be able to pay, since it depends on the payment terminal of a particular bank installed in the institution. So in order not to be in an unpleasant situation of the "defaulter", it is better to clarify in advance about the possibility of payment by the "world", and even better to have local cash currency in reserve.
Unfortunately, Mir cards cannot yet be paid in most foreign online stores, as well as in foreign booking systems for hotels, excursions, tickets. Therefore, for now, count on it as a full-fledged replacement for travel is not worth it.
You probably heard in the news that all previously issued Mastercard and Visa cards will continue to work domestically on the digital infrastructure of our Mir system. However, make no mistake: to use abroad in the countries listed above, you need a card with the "world" logo, and nothing else.
Wait for Mir + UnionPay cards to appear
Immediately after the imposition of sanctions (and why not earlier, because they were allegedly preparing???) major Russian banks have begun working on the issue of issuing a joint Mir card and the Chinese UnionPay payment system. If the issue is resolved positively, we advise you to issue just such a card. The geography of UnionPay is much wider than that of Mir, and therefore you can widely pay with such a card in all countries of Asia, and in 157 countries of the world. Also, using UnionPay, you can book hotels, buy tickets, etc.on foreign sites. So in the end, the Mir + UnionPay card will become a full-fledged replacement for blocked systems, unless, of course, the next Western fans of sanctions intervene again.
By the way, UnionPay is now and previously issued by a limited number of domestic banks. But so far, due to the small distribution in the Russian Federation, this is too expensive due to the high cost of their production and annual maintenance. But we are waiting for the development of the situation and hope that, like Mir, they will be manufactured and serviced for free.
Use cash
Cash in the country's currency or dollars and euros is the easiest and most reliable way, which did not lose its relevance even in pre – sanction times, let alone the current conditions. Using cash is sometimes even more profitable than cards, as we talked about here – which is more profitable abroad: cash or plastic cards. So take the good old bills in dollars or euros with you on a trip, and depending on the country, change them to the local currency or pay them immediately. For example, in Egypt you will gladly accept cash dollars, so you do not even need to look for an exchanger. But in Thailand, Turkey, India, it is preferable to change the international currency to local money.
It is worth noting that in many countries popular with Russians, you can exchange Rubles or in rare cases even pay them directly. However, this is extremely unprofitable due to the undervalued exchange rate, so it is better to change rubles for dollars or euros at home, and then in another country for the local currency.
Get a card from a foreign bank
This option is suitable only for travelers who travel for a long time and a lot, and have a good command of a foreign language. As a rule, there are no restrictions on foreigners opening a bank account, at least not yet. Therefore, you can apply with a passport to one of the local banks, and issue there a debit card of one of the world payment systems tied to an account in this bank. You can pay it not only in the country of its issuance, but also around the world. True, you will have to replenish your account in cash, because transfers from the Russian Federation are now closed again due to sanctions.
We sincerely hope that this difficult situation will soon be resolved, and together with you we will again be able to travel at our pleasure around the world. In the meantime, adopt the methods listed above, or you can advise your secret tricks on our forum.