Ardshinbank was the first in Armenia to issue payment cards  ArCa-WORLD

ArmInfo.Ardshinbank was the first in Armenia to start issuing chip payment cards ArCa-MIR, which are serviced both in Armenia and throughout Russia. The press service of Ardshinbank informed ArmInfo about this.

As previously noted by the project participants, the main purpose of  issuing and servicing these joint cards is to provide citizens of  both countries with even more high-quality services, the development  of non-cash payments and the expansion of the geography of card  transactions of national payment systems.  "Today Ardshinbank  officially starts the process of issuing a joint payment card  ArCa-MIR.We are one of the leading banks in Armenia, we are the first  to issue these cards.I think it necessary to remind you that since  July all ATMs of the bank have served the payment cards of the MIR  system. on ensuring the acceptance of payment cards, "said Armen  Gasparyan, Director of the Directorate of Strategic Development of  Ardshinbank.

With the tariffs of ArCa-MIR cards, as well as the terms of their  provision, you can find more details by visiting the official website  of the bank www.ardshinbank.am, by calling the 24-hour communication  center of the bank (012) 222222 or by using the "Call Back" service.

It should be noted that on July 7, 2017 the Central Bank of Armenia  included the Russian national system of payment cards MIR (NSPK) in  the register of active payment and settlement systems, and  simultaneously gave permission to Armenian Card payment and  settlement organization to participate in the MIR system. The project  of intersystem interaction assumes mutual acceptance of cards of  national payment systems in the infrastructures of two countries:  ArCa cards in Russia, maps "MIR" in Armenia. 

The project also provides for the production of ArCa-MIR cobeydge  (joint) cards. The technical possibility of issuing such cards has 16  banks operating on the ArCa infrastructure. The MIR-ArCa project is  inherently the first in the EEA space, which demonstrates the high  level of Armenia-Russia cooperation aimed at high-quality service to  citizens of the two countries, increasing the volume of non-cash  payments, and expanding the geography of plastic operations on the  cards of national payment systems. The Eurasian Economic Union  includes Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan.  Recall  that the need to create a national payment system (NSPK) on maps  <MIR> arose in the summer of 2014, when Visa and MasterCard, due to  US sanctions against Russia, stopped servicing the cards of a number  of Russian banks. On June 3, 2016, an agreement of intent was signed  between Armenian Card CJSC (operator of Armenia's payment system  ArCa) and JSC NSPK (operator of the Russian payment system Mir),  providing for mutual servicing of ArCa and Mir payment systems in  payment infrastructures their participants.

According to the analytical review "Armenian Banks in the Card  Business" prepared by IA ArmInfo, Ardshinbank is among the top three  in terms of the total number of active cards - about 169 thousand, in  TOP-5 - by the total volume of plastic transactions - 103 billion  drams for 2016, Only by the volume of ATM transactions the position  in TOP-3 is maintained - over 99 billion drams for 2016, and the  number of ATMs is fixed at 178 ATM. Ardshinbank is the second largest  bank in Armenia, it has one of the largest retail chains, consisting  of 64 branches. Ardshinbank is the only private institution in  Armenia with ratings of two international rating agencies (Moody's  and Fitch) equal to Armenia's country rating.