INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia is encountering difficulties in the global expansion of its payment system set up to circumvent Ukraine-related sanctions, the head
of the Russia's Central Bank said Friday.Visa and Mastercard suspended their operations in Russia following the Ukraine offensive, meaning
the cards are not accepted around the world.Russian authorities would like the cards to be accepted abroad, which would ease the financial
difficulties Russians now face while traveling."We are working with many regulators from many countries to extend the use of Mir bank cards
to join the Mir system as they are "trying to minimize the risk of (potential) sanctions against them."More than 100 million Mir cards have
been issued over the past seven years, meaning over half of the Russian population has one, according to figures from the card's issuing
company.Some of the population does not have a choice: public sector employees and pensioners need a Mir card to receive state funds and
and the U.S.-dominated global financial system after being hit by unprecedented sanctions since it launched the Ukraine offensive in
