Chinese online retail giant AliExpress will be the first foreign company to accept Russia’s national card payment system, the Vedomosti newspaper reported Wednesday.
Customers will be able to pay for purchases on AliExpress with Mir bank cards starting next fall, Vedomosti reported.
The Mir card payment system was created by the Russian Central Bank to cut reliance on US-based firms Visa and MasterCard. Both companies cut ties with a number of Russian banks subject to US sanctions in 2014.
Previously only domestic companies, such as Russia’s flagship carrier Aeroflot, Russian Railways, and mobile operators Megafon and Tele2, had accepted the cards, Vedomosti reported.