How to pay in Belarus?

Do MIR cards work in Belarus

Yes, MIR cards are accepted at all terminals and ATMs in Belarus. However, holders of MIR cards of sanctioned banks may encounter problems with online transactions and payment at some retail outlets, especially when buying European products or at car dealerships and services. Although there is no direct ban on the use of MIR cards of sanctioned banks in Belarus, payment systems may impose internal restrictions due to the risk of secondary sanctions. In most cases, the cards of sanctioned banks (e.g. Sberbank, VTB, Alfa) work, but exceptions are possible.

Do foreign cards work in Belarus?

Unfortunately, foreign cards do not work in Belarus. This applies not only to Russian Visa or MasterCard, but to all foreign Visa/ MasterCard cards issued by any country except Belarus. Only one payment system of a foreign card works in Belarus - it is ‘MIR’.

Nevertheless, Belarusian Visa and MasterCard cards work in all countries except Russia and Ukraine, except for some types of transactions. 

All purchases on the territory of the Republic of Belarus are made in Belarusian rubles. If you use a Russian MIR card, conversion will take place at the exchange rates of the MIR payment system.

Where is it better to change cash?

Cash should be changed in banks or specialised exchange offices. Currency rates in banks of Belarus are approximately the same. Banks accept dollars, euros, russian roubles, and some branches also accept yuan. Banks do not charge any commission when exchanging currency.

The rate of withdrawal of Belarusian rubles from Russian MIR cards at ATMs is approximately the same as for cash exchange. But it should be taken into account that some banks charge a commission. For example, when withdrawing money from a Sberbank card, you will have to pay a commission of 100 RUB.

Can a foreigner open a Belarusian card?

Yes, it is possible! Being in the Republic of Belarus, foreign citizens can open international Visa and MasterCard cards to pay for purchases in Belarus and abroad, there is also a possibility to open Belkart and MIR cards. Belkart is an internal payment system of the Republic of Belarus based on bank payment cards. The main advantage of such cards is that transactions can be made in Belarus, as well as in the service network of the MIR payment system and its partner payment systems (the Russian Federation, the Republic of Armenia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. A number of operations are available in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey).

Now we will tell you more about how to open a card, which bank to choose, how much it will cost.

You can issue a card in any Belarusian city where there is a branch of the bank.

To do this, you will need:

• passport (in some cases, a foreign passport);
• a Belarusian SIM card (in some banks you can use a Russian number).

If your passport is not in Russian, you will need not only the original but also a copy of the passport translated into Russian/Belarusian. The translation must be certified by a notary or a foreign authorised person.

To apply for a plastic card, you almost always need to be present in person at a branch. The exception is Zepter Bank, where the application can be left remotely (send a scan of the document and payment receipt). In BNB-Bank - registration only in the branch, but the ready card can be sent to any country.

At the moment, you can open an account in Belarusian rubles, dollars, euros and Russian rubles in Belarusian banks.

Cost of the card for non-residents of Belarus

The cost of a card depends on whether it is issued on a plastic card or a digital card. Digital cards are often cheaper than plastic cards and some may be free, but you can only withdraw cash from them at contactless ATMs. At some contactless-enabled ATMs, you can withdraw money by activating the app and holding your smartphone up to the reader at the ATM.

Here are the terms and conditions for opening a card at some banks in Belarus:

BTA Bank:

• Cards: Visa Classic, Gold and Platinum.
• Currency: BYN/USD/EUR.
• Cost: 200 BYN /70 USD / EUR
• Crediting of funds: No fee by card number within the country, 1.5% from abroad.
• Cash withdrawal: No fee at BTA ATMs, 1% at partner ATMs, 2% at other ATMs.

MTBank:

• Cards: Visa Classic, Mastercard Standard.
• Currency: BYN (Visa Classic) and USD/EUR (Mastercard Standard).
• Cost: 300 BYN for the whole term.
• Crediting of funds: 2% for BYN accounts, 0.5% for USD/EUR accounts.
• Cash withdrawal: No fee at MTBank and partner ATMs, 3.5% at other ATMs.

ParitetBank:

•  Cards: All available.
• Currency: BYN/USD/EUR/RUB.
• Cost: 330 BYN for the whole term for all cards.
• Crediting of funds: No commission by card number, 2% by account number.
• Cash withdrawal: No fee at Paritetbank ATMs, 3% at other ATMs.

Zepter Bank:

• Cards: Visa Classic, Visa Gold, package ‘Visa Gold+Belkart’.
• Currency: BYN/USD/EUR.
• Cost: Visa Classic - 270 BYN, Visa Gold - 290 BYN, ‘Visa Gold+Belkart’ package - 350 BYN
• Crediting funds: No fee by card number.
• Cash withdrawal: No fee at ATMs of Zepter Bank, 2.5% domestically, 2.7% abroad.

Alfa Bank:

• Cards: Smart Classic, Smart Gold, Smart Platinum, Smart Black. 
• Currency: BYN/USD/EUR.
• Cost: 250 BYN for connection to the package of solutions. The cost of Smart Classic solution package is 4.9 BYN per month. If free of charge criteria are fulfilled - no commission.
• Crediting funds: No commission by account number.
• Cash withdrawal: No fee at Alfa Bank partner ATMs, 3% at other ATMs.

Usually it takes 7-10 days to issue a personalized card. If you don't want to wait that long, you can pay extra for an urgent issue. There is another way to speed up the process of card issuance - to issue a non-named card. It is usually provided on the day you apply to the bank, it will not have your name and surname on it, but such a card is suitable for most operations. 

You can register for an appointment at the bank in advance through the Earlyone application, with the help of which you can make an appointment at a bank branch for a certain time. Then you won't have to wait in a queue. Registration is available in BNB-Bank, MTBank, Paritetbank, Status Bank and Zepter Bank. 

How to top up a Belarusian card

You can top up your Belarusian card in various ways. For example, in any bank branch using cash or card, in a self-service terminal, in Internet or mobile banking by card-to-card transfer.

From abroad, as a rule, top-up is possible via swift-transfer (by account number) or foreign transfer service (by card number). The second option is not available for Russia.

Swift-transfer requires the following information:

• name of the bank;
• Swift-code of the bank;
• account number in the correspondent bank;
• surname, first name, patronymic (if any) and address of the recipient;
• number of the personal account opened in the currency of transfer.

How to pay in Belarus

In Belarus, you can officially pay for goods or services only with a bank card or Belarusian rubles. Important: you cannot pay with cryptocurrency!

In banks or exchange offices you can change dollars, euros and Russian rubles into the national currency, there are no problems with this in the country. Some bank branches also accept yuan, but this should be clarified.

Almost everywhere you can pay with a card, exceptions - bazaars, taxis (if you do not order through the app), in small towns payment for public transport is usually in cash. But there is also an app with a virtual wallet for fare payment - ‘Oplati’.

The mobile payment service Oplati provides an opportunity to make settlements using electronic money stored on an electronic wallet. The wallet is accessed via a mobile application on a smartphone, and payments are made by means of a QR code. The distinctive feature of the service is that it is not linked to a bank card. With its help it is possible to make payments through the ERIP system, pay for goods and services by QR code at stores, as well as instantly transfer money to each other without commission. Additionally, the service allows you to communicate in messenger format, request funds from friends and relatives, as well as create group wallets for joint purposes. The app is available for free download in the Play Market, App Store and AppGallery.

You can pay with your phone or watch too. Payment with contactless payment apps is available in all NFC-enabled terminals. Internet connection is not required for the services to work. There are 9 services for smartphone payment in Belarus:

• Apple Pay; 
• Samsung Pay; 
• Belkart Pay (available for Belkart system users, can be installed only on Android/Huawei);
• Mir Pay (available for MIR system users, can be installed only on Android);
• Swoo pay (can be installed only on Android/Huawei);
• Xiaomi Pay (can pay with the service using Mi Smart Band 4 NFC and Mi Smart band 6 NFC fitness bracelets by linking a Mastercard card to them);
• Huawei Pay (can be installed on Huawei smartphones with EMUI 12 and above and with NFC support, cards of Chinese PS UnionPay can be connected);
• Garmin Pay (designed to pay for purchases using Garmin smart watches);
• Fitbit Pay (designed for owners of Fitbit smart watches and/or fitness trackers).