MOSCOW, April 23 Cuba expects that tourists will be able to pay on the island with Mir cards as early as this year, the Cuban Ambassador said in an interview with in Russia, Julio Garmendia Peña.
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"We have probably been working on the introduction of the Mir map system for about a year or a little more; in our mutual accounts. We understand that this is very convenient for tourists from Russia who come to Cuba. <…> The process was delayed a little due to technical issues,” the diplomat noted.
The Ambassador recalled that Mir cards can already be partially used in Cuba: ATMs have begun accepting them for cash withdrawals.
«But it is necessary that the maps work in full. There is a desire, there is an intention to work to complete the technical issues that will allow its full implementation,» the Cuban diplomat concluded.
On March 14, the Mir payment system announced the start of work on the island. Now with the help of these cards you can withdraw cash from ATMs — work on the full functionality of the system continues.
Russian Ambassador in Havana Andrey Guskov previously said in an interview that preparations for the launch of a domestic payment system in Cuba are close to completion.
Mir cards are now accepted by partner banks in Abkhazia, Armenia , Belarus, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, South Korea and South Ossetia. Iran, Indonesia, Myanmar, Egypt, Thailand, India, Venezuela, Mauritius, Nigeria and Ethiopia are also showing interest in connecting.