Russia, India and China Co-operate on Offshore Card Settlements

After restricting financial transactions in Russia, disabling SWIFT, and banning foreign Visa and Mastercard, the country’s government began looking for ways to solve these issues. As a result, agreements were reached with countries ready to develop their own system for international transfers, create co-badged products, provide offshore prepaid cards and accept Russian MIR cards.

We are talking about China and India, which, back in March 2022 started talking about developing a payment system independent of SWIFT. Later, they started working closely on the issue. By October 2022, China had already launched its UnionPay prepaid card in Russia. In India, it will soon be possible to pay with Russian banking products of the MIR system.

China and India offshore cards: features and advantages

What are the plans of Russia, China, and India regarding balancing the financial situation in the world? Joint products presented by these countries can be used not only by Russian citizens but also by residents of other countries. They will help you make payments and withdraw cash abroad without any problems.

China prepaid offshore cards

China offers its own offshore UnionPay prepaid cards, which can be used without restrictions.

There are two options for such a card (both plastic and electronic version):

• MIR + UnionPay co-badged card available for payment for goods, services, and cash withdrawals in the Russian Federation (like MIR) and abroad (like UnionPay)
• China UnionPay offshore card is perfect for people who travel a lot, which means they pay and withdraw cash abroad.

The difference between these two China pre-paid cards is their functionality and the issuing bank. Thus, the co-badged version is not ideal for use on foreign Internet sites and when traveling to EU countries. Since the cards are presented together with the Russian payment system MIR, they are often not accepted for payment abroad, or there may be difficulties with cashing out funds.

On the contrary, offshore (anonymous) China UnionPay cards do not have such restrictions due to the issue by local Chinese banks and the extended geography of countries where Union Pay works. To date, there are almost 160 jurisdictions where you can pay with a China UnionPay card and withdraw money from ATMs. Among the countries servicing China offshore cards are France, Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Great Britain, the USA, and others.

India offshore cards

The governments of India and Russia are actively negotiating the introduction of joint financial tools, the results of which will be announced shortly. The main topic of negotiations is the mutual exchange of financial products to facilitate transactions in the territory of the Russian Federation and India, as well as international transactions.

What is planned and what to expect:

•  Implementation of the Indian Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and SPFS for interbank transfers to replace the Russian version of SWIFT.
•  Expanding the geography of using Russia and India local payment cards:
  • MIR cards will soon be accepted for payment and cashing in India
  • RuPay India offshore cards will be accepted for settlements in Russia.
• Creation of a completely new reserve currency, different from EUR and USD, which will allow mutual settlements within the BRICS group.

How to open an offshore card for payments abroad?

Although the issue of sanctions and bans now primarily concerns Russian citizens, residents of other countries should also think about obtaining reliable and safe financial tools. The situation in the world can change very quickly, and you should always have a backup plan.

Our experts will help you find a way out of any situation. The decision depends on the number of transactions, the purpose of transfers, and the client’s residence. First of all, these are prepaid bank cards, including India and China offshore cards, as well as offshore bank accounts in zones protected from sanctions and regulators (Nevis, Cook Islands, Belize, etc.).