MIAMI, United States. – The Minister of Tourism of the Cuban regime, Juan Carlos García, announced this Wednesday in Moscow that the MIR cards, Russian equivalents of Visa, Mastercard and American Express, will be operational in Cuba before the end of 2022, reported the state agency Latin Press.
“Ideally, the Russian client can use their MIR card on the island, and we are going to achieve that before the end of 2022,” said García during the presentation of the “Cuba Única” campaign at the International Tourism and Travel Fair. , in Russia.
In addition, he explained that “for the use of said means of payment in Cuba, the only thing missing is the programming of the terminals or post in which the operations can be carried out.”
In addition, the official acknowledged the delays in implementing the technology necessary to use the MIR cards on the island. Specifically, he said that the regime expected to put them into use in October.
In April of this year, Latin Press announced that the MIR card could be used in Cuba.
According to the official media, the project was announced at a working meeting of the State Duma (Lower House). During the session, Olga Skorobogatova, first vice president of the Central Bank of Russia, assured that the authorities of both countries were working to start operating the payment system on the island.
“There are several countries that would like to cooperate with us. For example, Cuba is one of the latest projects we are currently working on. In other words, our citizens will be able to use the Mir card in Cuba,” the Russian official said.
MIR cards are currently accepted in Turkey, Vietnam, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia.
Operations with MIR in Cuba would represent an incentive for tourism in the Caribbean country, since it would offer Russian citizens more options when it comes to paying for services.
In recent years, Russia has become the main source market for tourists to Cuba, a fact that has favored direct flights between Moscow and various tourist destinations on the island, including Havana, Varadero and Jardines del Rey.
Receive information from CubaNet on your cell phone through WhatsApp. Send us a message with the word “CUBA” on the phone +525545038831, You can also subscribe to our electronic newsletter by giving click here.
