“The Central Bank of Russia has revealed plans to launch a national payment card that will both rival Visa and Mastercard and create more choice for consumers, according to the country’s officials.
The card, which is the first of its kind in Russia, will use technical infrastructure provided by one of the country’s existing payment systems, with Sberbank’s Pro100 and Zolotaya Korona both being considered as partners. The latter, which means “Golden Crown”, was developed by the Centre of Financial Technologies Group, based in Russia. The chosen operator will clear payments made within Russia using the national card system, but the card will also be valid for payments abroad.”
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