Apple Pay now available for Mir cardholders in Russia

The slow rolling out of Apple Pay in Russia continues with Mir payment cards adding support for the service.

Five years after its debut in Russia, and following a steady increase in support from the region's banks, Apple Pay is now available to Mir card holders. Mir is accepted in 11 countries, and across the entire Russian Federation, where 99 million Mir cards have been issued since 2015.

"Connecting to Apple Pay will provide Mir cardholders with another convenient, fast and secure contactless payment method," said Vladimir Komlev, Mir's General Director, in a statement (in translation).

"Users will also have access to all the benefits of Mir payment," added Komley, "discounts when paying for subway travel, cashback for purchases from partners of the Mir payment system and other current offers."

Apple Pay compatibility will steadily expand across the banks that work with Mir.

"The first banks to provide their customers with Mir cards with Apple Pay service were Sberbank, VTB, Rosselkhozbank, PSB, Post Bank, Center-invest Bank, Tinkoff Bank and Primsotsbank," said Komlev.

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