Tehran and Moscow have finalized the integration of Russia’s Mir and Iran’s Shetab payment systems, announced the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI).
“During the meeting, the two sides finalized the requirements to connect Russia’s Mir payment system to Iran’s Shetab, and this project has entered the operational phase,” said Mohammad Reza Farzin, upon his return from St. Petersburg, where he held talks with Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, TASS reported.
Farzin stated that the first phase, beginning on August 22, will allow “bank cards of Iran’s Shetab system to be used as Amber smart cards in all ATMs across Russia, enabling Iranian citizens to withdraw rubles from Russian ATMs using their cards.”
“The second phase will enable Russian citizens to use their cards in Iran,” Farzin continued, adding that in the third phase, Iranians will be able to make payments with Shetab cards in Russian stores via ordinary bank terminals.
In April 2024, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that the project to use Mir cards had entered the implementation stage. In May 2022, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak mentioned that the countries were discussing how to connect the Mir and Shetab payment systems.