"During the meeting, the two sides finalized the requirements to connect Russia’s Mir payment system to Iran’s Shetab and this project has entered the operational phase," Mohammad Reza Farzin said upon his return from St. Petersburg, where he had held talks with Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, TASS reported.
Farzin said that in the first state, which kicks off on August 22, "bank cards of Iran’s Shetab system can be used as Amber smart cards in all ATMs across Russia and Iranian citizens will be able to withdraw rubles from the Russian ATMs using their cards."
"The second stage [involves the possibility of] paying with Russian citizens’ cards in Iran," Farzin said, adding that in the third stage, Iranians will be able to pay with a Shetab card in Russian stores via an ordinary bank terminal.