India and Russia are looking to accept RuPay and Mir cards

Amid sanctions on Moscow by Western nations, India and Russia are discussing the option of accepting each other's RuPay and Mir cards for convenient payment processing. During the high-level Internal Governmental Commission meeting on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC), the two countries agreed to consider accepting these cards, allowing Indian and Russian citizens to make payments in their respective countries using Indian rupees and Russian rubles.

At the high-level Internal Governmental Commission meeting on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC), co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Russia Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, discussions were held on exploring the possibility of integrating India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of the National Payment Corporation of India and Russia's Faster Payments System (FPS) of the Bank of Russia. The two countries also explored the potential adoption of the Russian financial messaging system, the Services Bureau of Financial Messaging System of the Bank of Russia, to facilitate cross-border payments.

Furthermore, the two leaders discussed the potential adoption of the Russian financial messaging system, known as the Services Bureau of Financial Messaging System of the Bank of Russia, for facilitating cross-border payments. India recently launched cross-border connectivity between its UPI and Singapore's PayNow, enabling faster and more cost-efficient digital transfers between the two countries. However, due to the sanctions, it may not be feasible for India to opt for other networks than SWIFT for overseas payments.