Emirati airlines resume accepting Russian cards – media

Several airlines in the United Arab Emirates have resumed accepting Russian cards to pay for tickets, Izvestia reported on Sunday, adding that customers are able to use Russia’s Faster Payments System (SBP).

Flights carried out by Emirates, Air Arabia and Flydubai can reportedly be paid for by MasterCard and Visa cards issued by Russian banks. Turkish Airlines has reportedly been planning to provide a similar service to its customers. 

After Visa and MasterCard pulled out of Russia nearly a year ago, the cards of international payment systems issued domestically were no longer accepted abroad or on foreign websites.

Russia’s domestic Faster Payment System (FPS) was launched by the country’s central bank in 2019. It allows customers to make transfers between banks using a phone number tied to an account. Card-to-card transfers are also available for transactions within a credit institution.

Tickets for Air Arabia flights can be paid for through the SBP system with a 6% commission charged on the total amount for each ticket issued. A reservation for tickets is taken on the carrier’s website, then after a call from support service the customer receives a link to finalize the operation.

Flydubai reportedly conducts transactions through an authorized agent with an additional fee of 2,000 rubles, while Emirates offers the opportunity to pay for tickets using a QR code system, but this can only be done for the purchase of tickets at least ten days prior to departure.

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