VTB (Kazakhstan) customers opened more than 3,000 cards of the Mir payment system. Of these, 60% were issued in digital format and 40% in plastic. The number of cards is growing steadily every month: in March, the bank issued over 2,200 cards. This is 3.5 times more than in February.
VTB (Kazakhstan) introduced Mir digital cards in December 2022 and began mass issuance of physical cards in March this year. In addition to Kazakhstan and Russia, the cards are also serviced at member banks of the Mir payment system outside these countries.
Cafes and restaurants, supermarkets, payments for IT services and passenger transportation account for the largest number of transactions on VTB Bank (Kazakhstan) Mir cards. Spending on educational services, groceries, car parts, tourist trips and excursions, and hotels accounted for the highest number of transactions.
"The demand for Mir cards in Kazakhstan is increasing every month, with digital cards outpacing plastic cards by 10% so far. We are also constantly working on the development of card services – in April we plan to launch outgoing transfers from Kazakhstan, so that customers can send money to any Mir card in another country in a couple of minutes", says Stanislav Koziakov, Director of Retail Business at VTB (Kazakhstan).
With the VTB (Kazakhstan) Mir card, customers can receive transfers from any bank's Mir card, make online purchases and pay for services in the VTB KZ Online mobile app. Abroad, users make purchases at retail outlets and withdraw money from ATMs that support Mir card acceptance. The card can also be connected to the Mir Pay app and used for contactless shopping with an NFC-enabled Android 7.0 or higher smartphone.
VTB (Kazakhstan) fully services both its own Mir cards and cards issued by other foreign banks. Its holders can withdraw any amount from ATMs with no limit on the number of transactions. The cost of issuing a plastic card is 2,000 tenge, while a digital card is free. Card maintenance is free of charge.
The fee for withdrawals from VTB's Mir cards in the bank's ATM network and cash offices will be 1% of the amount withdrawn and 1.5% in other banks outside the country. The minimum fee is 500 tenge.