Iran, Russia move towards dollar-free payments with Shetab-Mir link

The central banks of Iran and Russia have successfully completed the initial phase of integrating Iran’s Shetab payment system with Russia’s Mir network, enabling Iranian citizens to withdraw rubles from their bank cards while in Russia.

Mostafa Ghamari Vafa, head of public relations at Iran’s Central Bank, announced the development on the social media platform X, Caliber.Az reports per Russian media.

Ghamari Vafa shared a video demonstrating cash being withdrawn from an Iranian Shetab card via a phone equipped with NFC technology at a VTB ATM. In his post, he highlighted the integration milestone, writing, “Iran’s payment system (Shetab) joining Russia’s payment system (Mir).”

An official ceremony marking the launch of this first stage took place in Tehran, attended by the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Mohammad Reza Farzin, and Iran’s Ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali.

The event was broadcast by the SNN TV channel. Farzin emphasised that the project’s implementation is a significant move towards reducing dependency on the US dollar and facilitating smoother bilateral payments between Iran and Russia.

The full integration project is structured into three phases. Farzin noted that once the second stage is completed, Russian tourists will be able to use their Mir cards to withdraw cash from ATMs in Iran.

By Aghakazim Guliyev