Russian cards in Belarus

Can you pay with Russian cards in Belarus?

Let's clarify right away: there are no restrictions on using Russian bank cards in the Republic of Belarus. You can freely use your cards to pay for goods and services, as well as to withdraw cash.

However, there are restrictions on using bank cards from specific payment systems. Let's discuss this in more detail. A total of four payment systems operate bank cards in Russia: Visa, MasterCard, UnionPay, and Mir. The first two left our country in 2022, so you won't be able to pay with them in Belarus. UnionPay is not a very widespread payment system in our countries. You can use these cards in Belarus, but you may encounter some issues due to the system's lack of popularity.

The best option would be to get a Mir card. Our countries have contractual agreements that allow for the free use of cards from our payment system in ATMs and terminals serviced by Belkart.

How to properly cash out with Russian cards in Belarus?

There is no difference between cashing out a card in Russia and in Belarus — the procedure itself is completely identical. To withdraw cash from your card, you need to:

• find an ATM with cash withdrawal capabilities and insert your bank card into it;
• enter your PIN code;
• specify the withdrawal amount;
• confirm the transaction.

The only difficulty you may face is a high transaction fee. The national currency of our country is the Russian ruble, and the Republic of Belarus uses the Belarusian ruble. Therefore, currency conversion will take place regardless of the chosen ATM.

Transactions are not processed instantly, so the final exchange rate is set not at the time you receive the cash, but when the banks process the transaction. Therefore, the initial fee may be adjusted either upwards or downwards.

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How to pay for purchases with Russian cards in Belarus?

The scheme here is the same as with cash withdrawals. You can pay with your card just like in Russian stores. To do this, you either need to insert the card into the terminal or tap it for contactless payment, and enter the PIN code if necessary.

In this case, a double currency conversion will also take place. 

3 best debit cards for transactions in Belarus in 2022

As mentioned above, any Mir payment system card will work for your trip to Belarus, regardless of the issuing bank. Therefore, when choosing a card, we recommend paying attention primarily to the maintenance terms:

• the cost of card issuance and maintenance;
• the cost of cash withdrawals and transfers;
• the bonus program;
• the presence or absence of interest accrued on the account balance.

We have prepared the 3 best debit cards for your trip to Belarus in 2022.

Bank and debit card name	Maintenance cost	Cashback	Interest on balance
T-Bank 'Tinkoff Black'	0 to 99 RUB per month	up to 30 %	up to 6% per annum on the account balance
Alfa-Bank "Alfa-Card"	free of charge	up to 33 %	none
VTB "Multicard Mir"	free of charge	up to 50 %	none

T-Bank 'Tinkoff Black'

"Tinkoff Black" is one of the most popular debit cards of 2022. And that is no surprise. It stands out favorably with free delivery to the recipient's home or office, as well as the option to open a multi-currency account. This means you can immediately open an account in Belarusian rubles, top it up via the mobile app, and immediately pay for purchases in local currency using the card.

As for cashback, it is standard here:

• the bank awards from 1% to 15% of the spent amount for purchases in selected categories;
• from 3% to 30% for purchases at Tinkoff partner stores.

Tinkoff Bank is one of the few institutions that pays interest on card account balances. By getting Tinkoff Black, you can earn from 3% to 6% on balances up to 300,000 RUB, provided you spend at least 3,000 RUB per month.

Alfa-Bank "Alfa-Card"

Alfa-Card is the ideal card for traveling abroad. Alfa-Bank allows free cash withdrawals of up to 50,000 RUB per month at ATMs of any credit institution worldwide. The fee for exceeding this limit is only 1.99% of the transaction amount, with a minimum of 199 RUB.

The cashback terms are as follows:

• 1.5% of the spent amount is awarded by the bank for standard purchases if your monthly spending exceeds at least 1 RUB;
• 2% for standard purchases if monthly spending exceeds 100,000 RUB;
• up to 33% for purchases at Alfa-Bank partner stores.

VTB "Multicard Mir"

VTB also allows foreign currency cash withdrawals with the Mir Multicard debit card. Unlike Alfa-Bank, there are no special privileges for cardholders here — the transaction fee is 1% of the withdrawal amount, with a minimum of 300 RUB.

The cashback terms here are slightly more favorable:

• 2% of the spent amount is awarded by the bank for standard purchases in the categories "Restaurants, fast food and delivery", "Taxi, city and suburban transport" and "Supermarkets and grocery delivery";
• 2.5% for standard purchases in the categories "Restaurants, fast food and delivery", "Taxi, city and suburban transport" and "Supermarkets and grocery delivery" for salary project clients;
• up to 50% — for purchases at VTB partner stores.

To sum up. There are absolutely no restrictions on using Russian bank cards in the Republic of Belarus. You can freely use them to pay for goods and services in stores and withdraw cash. Restrictions only apply to the payment systems servicing the cards. In Belarus, you can freely use only Mir cards.