Russia's Mir card payment system connects to Apple Pay

FILE PHOTO: A smartphone with the Apple Pay logo is placed on a laptop in this illustration taken on July 14, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's card payment system Mir, which was set up in 2015 after the West imposed sanctions on Moscow, is now connected to Apple Pay, the card issuer said on Tuesday.

More than 95 million Mir cards have been issued by Russia's National Card Payment System (NSPK), accounting for about a third of Russia's card market which was previously dominated by international payment systems Visa and Mastercard.