On Monday, Kommersant news outlet reported that the Russian payment system has ordered Russian banks to develop alternatives to replace Apple Pay and Google Pay.

The report noted, the National Payment Card System (NSPK) has directed banks to create a competing system which will allow people to pay with their Mir cards using a QR code and a smartphone. The Mir payment system, operated by NSPK, was developed as a Russian analogue to the Visa and Mastercard payment system during a previous round of sanctions on Russia which saw Visa and Mastercard withdraw services to Russian customers. Now the Mir system handles all non-cash payments in Russia.

It is expected the new service will become operation by the end of April 2023, and by November it will be available at 85% of Russian points of sale.

The head of the NSPK, Alma Obayeva, said the technology will be very easy to implement, as it is so simple by nature. She went on, “The operational bulletin published in December provides for the integration of this service by banks and merchants by the end of April 2023. We expect that by that time, banks will be ready to test the service and provide their customers with an opportunity to make payments using the technology.”

Experts have noted the changeover will require replacing up to two million point-of-sale terminals in retail stores throughout Russia.

Both Apple and Google pay withdrew services in Russia earlier this year, as the West imposed a wide raft of economic sanctions on Russia following the start of military hostilities in Ukraine.