Russia may pull Visa and Mastercard cards out of circulation by the end of 2027, lawmaker says

Visa and Mastercard cards issued in Russia are facing a slow exit, according to Anatoly Aksakov, who chairs the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market. For PSPs and acquirers, the practical point is not the political headline but the plumbing: certificate issues, expiring cards, and a long transition toward domestic rails.

1. Aksakov said the Visa and Mastercard cards held by Russians are “less protected” because of outdated security certificates, and argued that they will leave circulation in Russia by the end of 2027.
2. He told RIA Novosti that he thinks the shift could happen “next year,” adding that consumers have already started to feel it is better to move to newer payment tools.
3. Visa and Mastercard stopped working with Russia in spring 2022. Since then, the Central Bank has warned that cards issued by Russian banks under those schemes would be gradually taken out of use.
4. Last week, the National Payment Card System (NSPK) warned of possible problems when paying online with foreign Visa and Mastercard cards. NSPK said the changes will not affect Mir cards.
5. The Russian central bank has also been discussing with banks the shutdown of Visa and Mastercard cards with extended validity periods. In October 2025, Alla Bakina, director of the Central Bank’s National Payment System Department, said expired Visa and Mastercard cards would continue to work in Russia. In July 2026, Mir cards reached an 85% share of the Russian market.

There is a separate operational wrinkle here: Sberbank said it will stop servicing foreign-currency and multicurrency Visa cards from 1 September 2026. For merchants and PSPs still routing Russian traffic, the direction of travel is pretty clear even if the exact cutoff is not.