Lukashenko added that there was plenty of fraud in the payments sphere and that tight control was needed, and that the bank should also focus on reducing inflation and keep gold and foreign currency reserves at a safe level.
In December 2014, the Belarisian central bank announced that all Visa and MasterCard transactions for goods or services located abroad would be subject to a 30% tax. The move was aimed at discouraging conversions of Belarus fiat currency to other currencies, but it had the opposite effect.
In Russia, after several banks were shut out of Visa and MasterCard transactions due to sanctions over Ukraine, the central bank made several moves to weaken dependency on the two international card brands.
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