Apple Closes Loophole That Allowed Mir Cardholders to Use Apple Pay in Russia
Apple this week suspended its Apple Pay service for the Mir card payment system in Russia, effectively closing a loophole that had allowed Russians to continue to use the Apple Pay service.
According to Reuters, Mir had remained connected to Apple Pay even after Apple restricted the use of the payments service in Russia on March 1 for Mastercard and Visa cardholders.
Russia's National Card Payment System said on Thursday that Mir access had been removed, and Mir cards will no longer work with Apple Pay in the coming days.
"Apple has informed NSPK it is suspending support for Mir cards in the Apple Pay payment service. Starting from March 24, users cannot add new Mir cards to the service. Apple will stop all operations of previously added cards over the next few days," NSPK said on Friday.
Apple Pay support launched for the Mir payment system in July 2021. Mir is Russia's national payment system, with 150 banks issuing Mir cards.
Apple on March 1 ended Apple Pay access in Russia and also stopped all product sales in the country. iTunes and App Store purchases were reportedly halted on March 10.
Popular Stories
Update 10:04 a.m.: iOS 27 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking!
Apple is about to release iOS 27, which will finally deliver more advanced Siri AI capabilities as well as a variety of other refinements, improvements, and new features to iPhones. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at Wednesday's iPhone event...
Update — 10 a.m. Pacific Time: Apple has released iOS 27.
During its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo event last week, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released widely on Monday, September 14.
iOS 27 should be available around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time today via the Settings app, under General → Software Update.
Below, we have highlighted eight new features and...
Apple today announced a new subscription initiative that turns paid iCloud+ subscriptions into a broader services bundle in more than 100 countries.
In select countries, Apple says every paid iCloud+ plan, including the cheapest 50GB tier, now includes Apple TV and Apple Arcade "at no additional cost," while family sharing extends the storage, TV and Arcade access to up to five people....
