In the age of development of modern information technologies, cash is being replaced by bank cards. As experts note, the volume of use of plastic tools will only increase over time. This is due to the great advantages of such a product.

The functioning of cards is ensured by payment systems. The most common are Mastercard and Visa. They are distributed all over the world. However, after the referendum in Crimea, the use of cards in this territory was frozen.

In connection with this situation, the Russian government decided to develop its own payment system that services the Mir card. All social workers and pensioners will receive funds only on this card.

The Mir plastic card is a banking product with functionality that is no different from cards serviced by foreign payment systems. It was developed in 2014, and starting in 2016, Sberbank of Russia began producing plastic instruments.

Thanks to our own development, card servicing will not depend on Western sanctions. Thus, the government protects the most vulnerable segments of the population: pensioners, social workers and public sector employees.

It should be noted that the Mir card does not differ in functionality from other plastic instruments, except that it can only store Russian rubles, and therefore cannot be used in other countries. However, this drawback is already at the stage of being resolved, as options for cooperation with some countries where it will be possible to use the new card are being considered. It is also planned to issue credit cards of the Russian payment system.

The validity period of the new banking product is five years. The daily limit on withdrawals is 300,000 rubles, and payments can be made in the amount of 500,000 rubles.

Is it paid and is it necessary?

Initially, the Russian payment system was developed for people receiving pension benefits and employees of budgetary organizations. But today, at Sberbank representative offices, all adult citizens of the Russian Federation can issue a Mir card.

If you work in a government agency and receive your salary by non-cash method, then as part of the salary project in 2018, all budget employees will receive a Mir card. Such measures are mandatory. And until 2020, all pensioners will receive payments for a new plastic instrument. In these cases, switching to a new banking instrument is mandatory.

All other Russian citizens can independently apply for a Mir card if they wish. It should be understood that global payment systems operate throughout the country, except Crimea. Therefore, each person decides for himself which banking product is more convenient for him to use, since the transition to the Russian payment system is not mandatory. There is a fee for servicing a debit card.

What is the cost of card servicing?

Today, Sberbank of Russia issues the world map in two versions:

1. Pension.
2. Debit.

In the first option, the banking product is provided free of charge to people who receive their pension by non-cash method. There is no annual maintenance fee for plastic instruments.

Also, the new card is issued free of charge to employees of budgetary organizations as a salary tool.

If a person is not a public sector employee or a pensioner, then he can independently apply for a banking product at any branch of Sberbank. In this case, the cost of the first year of service is 750 rubles. And starting from the second year, you will need to pay 450 rubles.

In other banking organizations, the cost of service may vary significantly, so you need to clarify the conditions and tariffs at the representative offices of financial institutions.

Advantages and disadvantages of the Sberbank World card

The national card has a lot of advantages, but since the product was released relatively recently, it is still raw, so there are some disadvantages. Let's look at the features of the new plastic tool.

• Independence from Western payment systems.
• High limits on card cashing. Depending on the status of the instrument, you can withdraw at least 150,000 rubles per day without commission.
• You can pay in all major stores.
• High degree of protection.
• Cardholders can connect to all possible Sberbank services.
• Possibility of connecting to the “Thank you from Sberbank” program.
• The card is serviced by a large network of ATMs and self-service devices.

• Cash back is currently not available.
• High maintenance costs compared to many card products.
• Possibility of use only in Russia. However, this drawback is already being resolved, as the possibility of cooperation with the payment systems American Express and Maestro is being considered. Therefore, soon the Mir card will be able to be used in other countries.

Experts note that very soon, the new banking product will not have any restrictions.

If the pension fund demands clarification...

On July 1, 2017, a new bill came into force on the transfer of pensioners and public sector employees to the national payment system Mir. It is planned that by 2020, all pension payments will be transferred to the new card.

Many pensioners demand clarification as to why they should give up their usual cards. In this regard, the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation was obliged to explain the situation to citizens of the Russian Federation.

The transfer procedure to the Russian payment system is painless. The service is free, the transfer to the Mir payment system will occur gradually, so there is no need to apply for a new card.

The new card was developed to protect state employees and pensioners from Western sanctions. This allows us to ensure the safety of the population's funds.

Therefore, there is no need to be afraid of innovations. The national plastic instrument is no different in functionality from common cards.

How to refuse?

After the release of the Mir card, many people began to report that their employers promised to fire them if they did not agree to switch to the new payment system. Such cases are illegal, so it is necessary to contact the appropriate authorities.

According to current legislation, all banks will be required to serve pensioners and salary clients only with the Mir card. But no one has the right to force people to use this banking product.

If you do not want to receive a pension or salary on the Mir card, then you need to write a corresponding application at work or to the Pension Fund. But in this case, funds can only be received in cash. And transferring money to cards of another payment system will not be possible.

“There will be extra expenses, hassle, extra work,” says Oleg Sysuev, first deputy chairman of the board of directors of Alfa-Bank. A massive transition to receiving budget funds on the Mir card may begin on July 1

The Central Bank proposes to begin transferring state employees to the Mir card from July 1. This was stated at a meeting with bankers at the Bor boarding house near Moscow by the head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina. She also said that the final transition to receiving budget funds for Mir cards may be delayed until July 1 next year. Previously, it was planned to be completed by January 1.

The total transfer of all public sector employees to the Mir card was criticized, among others, by the head of Sberbank, German Gref. The position of the Business FM bankers was explained by the First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alfa-Bank Oleg Sysuev:

First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alfa Bank“I understand that the decision was to create this payment system in general, and this card was caused by political motives. If politics comes into play, we are no longer talking about economic and market reasons. If we look at it from this point of view, there will be some extra work, there will be some kind of limitation from the point of view of competition, because the existing payment systems have fully justified themselves, they have fully met the needs of all users, including in Russia. This is not driven by a market need for another payment system to exist. Thus, it seems to me that there will be extra expenses, extra hassle, extra work, I don’t think there will be any special disruptions, I won’t lie here. We do not expect any cataclysms or disruptions in this regard. It seems to me that all decisions that are caused by political circumstances are not rational.”

The mass transfer to the Mir card will affect all state employees, pensioners and recipients of social payments. Experts find it difficult to name the exact number of Russians who will be required to receive funds on the card of the national payment system. But the transition will definitely affect tens of millions of people, and there are fears that problems will arise during its course, says Alma Obaeva, chairman of the board of the non-profit partnership National Payment Council.

Alma Obaeva Chairman of the Board of the non-profit partnership "National Payment Council"“I am a client of a large bank, I sometimes go to the branch for some questions. There are a lot of people. It seems that everything is already at ATMs, terminals, and remote control, but still people are sitting, the population wants to contact the operator with certain questions. If you imagine that it will be necessary to replace everyone en masse - this is at least 20 million people, and you will not receive a card virtually, you must receive it physically: come, give an application to open an account, then come and pick up the card. I don’t want there to be queues on the street.”

According to the National Payment Card System, as of December 21 last year, Russian banks had already issued more than one and a half million Mir cards. The leader in issuance was the largest bank of Crimea, RNKB, which already has 850 thousand cards.

In recent days, alarming calls and e-mail messages have been received from citizens who are forced at their place of work, in the bodies of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation or in banks to receive an electronic payment card “Mir”. These actions of representatives of certain organizations contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and the latest changes in legislation.

On May 3, 2017, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published a new Federal Law dated May 1, 2017 No. 88-FZ “On Amendments to Article 16.1 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” and the Federal Law “On the National Payment System.”

The declared purpose of the document signed by the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin's law is the gradual transfer of public sector workers and pensioners exclusively to cards of the National Payment Card System "Mir" (NSCP) to ensure complete independence of Russia from foreign payment systems.

From July 1, 2017, all banks will have to ensure the ability to provide all applicants with a card of the national payment system "Mir". That is, banks are obliged to ensure the issuance and implementation of transactions using the Mir card throughout the Russian Federation within the period specified by the adopted law. This is specifically mentioned in parts 5-5.3 Article 2 of the new Federal Law.

At the same time, the law reserves for Russian citizens the right to choose the method of receiving salaries and pensions. This law does not oblige all citizens to receive Mir bank payment cards; its provisions apply exclusively to citizens who have or voluntarily accept these bank cards.

If a citizen wishes to receive wages, pensions or other social and other payments from the budget of the Russian Federation in cash or to an account to which a plastic card is not linked, then he must be given this opportunity. Receiving and using the Mir electronic payment card is absolutely voluntary!

“The provisions of parts 5-5.3 of this article do not apply to cases receipt by individual clients of tax deductions for personal income tax, receipt by individual clients of payments to bank accounts that do not involve transactions with them using payment cards, receipt by individual clients of payments through cash payments (including through organizations postal services), receipt by clients - individuals determined in accordance with regulatory legal acts lump sum payments or payments made at intervals less than once a year..."

In addition, Article 16-1 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” retains the following provision: “The seller ( executor) is obliged to ensure the possibility of payment for goods ( works, services) through the use of national payment instruments, and also cash payments at the consumer's choice".

The executor, in particular, is each employer, Pension Fund authority, bank or post office that obliged at the request of citizens make payments in cash.

So, forcing citizens to accept and use NSPK Mir electronic payment cards is completely unacceptable.

Moreover, any citizen who previously received a Mir card can refuse to use it. Back in February 2017, the head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation (FAS) Igor Artemyev said: “FAS and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation agreed that from January 1, 2018, public sector employees can refuse to have their salaries credited to the Mir card, but in this case they will be able to receive your money only in cash at the cash desk.”

Pensioners today can choose between non-cash and cash payments. In the latter case, the money goes through a bank or post office, where there is a cash desk and there are no problems with cash withdrawals.

The provision on the obligation to provide cash payments will create more difficulties for budgetary organizations, says Oleg Ivanov, vice-president of the Association of Russian Banks. “Many budget organizations have already abandoned the creation of a cash register; cashiers have practically stopped working with cash,” he says. - Now this work will have to be resumed».

Here, of course, a lot depends on the will and firmness of the citizens themselves, but on their side are not only the new Federal Law signed by the President of the Russian Federation, but also the Basic Law of the state - the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Article 75 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation: 1. The monetary unit in the Russian Federation is the ruble. Monetary emission is carried out exclusively by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The introduction and issue of other money in the Russian Federation is not allowed. 2. Protecting and ensuring the stability of the ruble is the main function of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation...”

“Payment of wages is made in cash in the currency of the Russian Federation (in rubles).

In accordance with a collective agreement or employment contract, upon a written application from an employee, remuneration may be made in other forms that do not contradict the legislation of the Russian Federation...

The share of wages paid in non-monetary form cannot exceed 20 percent of the accrued monthly wage...”

It remains to be reminded once again that the introduction and use of electronic non-cash money is an illegal act.

quite rightly states: “This is outright counterfeiting on an especially large scale... Why do I have such an irreconcilable (not tolerant) attitude towards non-cash money? For the simple reason that they are illegal means of payment and exchange. In other words, counterfeit money.

Who is responsible for issuing non-cash money (also called deposit money)? - Commercial banks, of which we currently have more than 800 ( now - more than 600, article written by Valentin Yuryevich in 2015- author). And in America (USA) - almost 7 thousand. What laws determine the status and procedure for issuing non-cash money? - None. Their release and circulation are, as lawyers say, “outside the right field.” And such activity in our country in certain circles is usually called “life according to concepts.”

Legitimate money(“legal tender”; analogous to our term in Anglo-Saxon law - legal tender) are only those obligations that are issued by Central Banks. This is cash in the form of paper notes (banknotes) of various denominations, which have reliable protection against counterfeiting. In the good old days, central bank notes were backed in whole or in part by their metal supply (the “gold standard”). Today, unfortunately, this is no longer the case. These are simply paper tokens (they are called “fiat” money). But with all this, they are legal money, the status of which is enshrined in the laws, and often in the constitutions of states. But non-cash money is shadow money, essentially illegal!”

Let's hope that the materials offered to readers will become a guide to action for them in the struggle to preserve the traditional and legal system of cash payments in our beloved Russia.

“Beware lest anyone deceive you”(Matthew 24:4) - our Lord Jesus Christ Himself teaches us.

Valery Pavlovich Filimonov, Russian writer

There has been a need for a long time ago for such a huge country as Russia to have its own payment system. But due to the eternal Russian “maybe”, its development was not carried out until Western sanctions blocked the work of Visa and MasterCard issued in Russia.

The development of the Russian payment system began hastily as “our answer to Chamberlain” and, as usual, was launched in 2015 on an unprepared financial market and with a lot of shortcomings. From the same period, all payments on the territory of the Russian Federation began to go through the national payment card system, regardless of the type of card used.

On May 1, 2017, the President of the Russian Federation signed a decree on the forced transfer of all budget cash payments to cards of the Mir payment system. The decree determined the order of transition, in which, from July 1, 2017, newly hired employees of budgetary institutions switched to new cards. Workers with experience will be transferred to Mir cards by July 1 of the current year. Pensioners and recipients of social benefits are transferred to the Russian payment system gradually, as the validity periods of the other types of plastic cards they use expire.

"Mir" cards from Sberbank of the Russian Federation

Sberbank of the Russian Federation became involved in issuing and servicing Mir cards in 2016. Currently, Sberbank provides its clients with two types of credit cards of the Russian payment system - classic (analogous to Visa and MasterCard) and pension.

Pension card "Mir" from Sberbank

The overwhelming majority of pensioners do not care which card the money is transferred to. So the plans of the Russian government to transfer pensions to Mir did not cause much criticism.

Moreover, Sberbank offered quite favorable conditions to pensioners:

1. ATMs do not charge a fee for cash withdrawals.
2. Interest is charged on the balance at the rate of 3.5 percent per annum.
3. The cost of using mobile banking is only 30 rubles per month.

However, these advantages did not compensate for the immediately identified disadvantages:

1. Cash withdrawals are only possible at Sberbank ATMs.
2. The card cannot be used abroad. Thus, grandmothers who visit their relatives somewhere in Kazakhstan once a year will be forced to get an additional international circulation card or carry cash with them.
3. According to the statement of the head of the National Bank of the Russian Federation E. Nabiullina, a fee will be charged for servicing the card starting in 2020.
4. It is not possible to pay for online purchases using the card.
5. If there are more than 40,000 rubles on the card, the pensioner is obliged to enter into an insurance contract “Protection of funds on bank deposits”. The cost of insurance is, depending on the amount in the account, from 750 to 4000 rubles.
6. The transfer of pensioners to Mir cards is forced and violates antitrust laws.

Is it possible to refuse the “World” card?

The “Law on the National Payment System” guarantees citizens of the Russian Federation the right to freely choose the method of receiving pensions and benefits. Any attempts to force a pensioner to choose a Mir pension card are illegal and contrary to the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Pensioners have the right to refuse to use the Mir card, about which they must write a corresponding application to the Pension Fund. The only alternative to crediting money to a card is to receive pensions in cash at the cash desks.