Hanoi, 29 October 2019 – Within the framework of the 22nd Session of the Vietnam – Russia Intergovernmental Committee for Economic-Commercial and Scientific-Technological Cooperation, the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) coordinated with National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) and Russia’s National Payment Card System (NSPK) to hold the announcement ceremony of MIR-NAPAS cooperation.

BIDV and NAPAS signed an agreement on card connection with NSPK under the witness of Mr. Trinh Dinh Dung - Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam and Mr. Maxim Akimov – Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and senior officials of the two countries. To date, BIDV is the sole bank to launch MIR card acquiring service at its POS across Vietnam.

According to Vietnam’s General Statistics Office, Russian tourist arrivals to Vietnam as of September 2019 reached over 600,000, with an average growth of over 20% over the last 3 years, which lays solid foundation for the launch of the MIR card acceptance service in Vietnam. The service will bring convenience and security to investors and tourists who are MIR cardholders when traveling in Vietnam, contributing to promoting bilateral cooperation on cashless payment between Vietnam and the Russian Federation.

After the signing ceremony, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Maxim Akimov and senior officials experienced the MIR card payment at BIDV’s POS at the event booth. BIDV said it would expand the connection, allowing MIR cardholders to use services at BIDV’s ATM system.

BIDV currently has nearly 70,000 POS, 2,000 ATMs serving more than 100 million domestic cardholders of 50 financial institutions both local and international. For years, BIDV has been honoured by the International Financial Magazine (IFM) for its POS/ATM card acquiring service. In 2019, BIDV received the Best Payment Merchant Service award from The Asian Banker. Looking forward, BIDV is working with NAPAS on the acceptance of BIDV domestic card payment in the Russian Federation.