Russia may face issues with Visa and Mastercard payments

Several Russian banks will face the expiry of security certificates for Visa and Mastercard chip cards by the end of 2024, possibly leading to payment issues.

Source: Russian media group RBC with reference to four sources from Russia's payment market and representatives of major banks, as reported by The Moscow Times

Details: One of the sources mentioned that the security certificates for the chips might not align with the validity period of the cards themselves, as banks could purchase them for different periods, such as three or five years. 

Another source noted that the validity of these certificates was extended prior to the withdrawal of Visa and Mastercard from Russia in 2022, but now banks will independently decide whether to accept these cards for payment or not.

Meanwhile, the functioning of a card depends on two banks involved in the payment chain, the issuing bank and the acquiring bank. However, some payments may stop going through regardless.

"This should not affect mass transactions but could cause problems with deferred transactions, such as payments for public transport fares or offline payments, where POS terminals are not connected to the network," the RBC source said.

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