The largest bank in Turkey refused to work with the Russian payment system “Mir”

The Turkish bank İşbank (Türkiye İş Bankası) has announced that it has suspended work with the Russian payment system Mir. This is stated in a company statement quoted by the Turkish Bloomberg HT TV channel.

The bank reported that they made such a decision due to the fact that earlier in September the US Treasury threatened sanctions against companies that help the Russian authorities use Mir cards outside the Russian Federation.

On the evening of September 19, İşbank ATMs stopped issuing Turkish lira from the cards of the Russian payment system Mir, informed TASS correspondent.

İşbank is the largest private bank in Turkey in terms of assets.

The Financial Times previously reportedthat the US and the EU have stepped up pressure on Turkey, fearing that Russia could bypass Western sanctions through the Turkish banking sector. According to the publication, the US authorities have set their sights on Turkish banks that work with the Mir payment system.

Five of the country’s largest banks, including Vakifbank, Ziraat Bank, DenizBank, Halkbank, and İşbank, worked with the Mir system in Turkey. In September TourDom.ru wrotethat some Turkish hotels stopped accepting Mir cards due to the fact that Vakif Bank stopped transactions with Mir.

In early August, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, that the Mir system contributes to the development of tourism between the two countries.