Mir Instead of a Ski Pass: Udmurtia Experiments With a Bank Card
Digitizing social payments is helping the government of the Udmurt Republic cut budget costs. The region no longer needs an intermediary bank to transfer benefits to recipients. Eliminating commissions reduces fiscal pressure, while multifunctional services built around the Mir card add tangible convenience for citizens.
Digitalization of Social Benefits
The region has become a pilot site for scaling direct social benefit transfers through Sistema bystrykh platezhey, or SBP, the Faster Payments System. Authorities plan to use it for more than 30 support measures. Fifteen have already been moved to the new format – direct transfers to Mir cards.
“To receive funds, beneficiaries only need to provide their bank card number. It does not matter which bank issued the card,” said Dmitry Dubynin, генеральный директор Nationalnaya sistema platezhnykh kart, or NSPK, the National Payment Card System. In partnership with NSPK, the Udmurt government has been transitioning to the new payout model since mid-2025.
How the System Works
The system runs on NSPK infrastructure, including Mir card processing and SBP rails. The regional social payments platform is synchronized with Edinaya gosudarstvennaya informatsionnaya sistema sotsialnogo obespecheniya, or EGISSO, the Unified State Social Security Information System. This integration enables automatic verification of eligibility without requiring citizens to submit additional documentation.
Udmurtia’s digitalization effort goes beyond transferring cash benefits. The region is introducing electronic certificates that allow recipients to obtain goods, works and services. This model ensures that funds are spent for their intended purpose.
The Mir card is evolving from a payment tool into a gateway to new services. Through API integrations managed by NSPK with retail chains, tour operators and infrastructure facilities, cardholders gain additional functionality. In practice, the card can serve as a ski pass at a local ski resort.
Phased Integration
In Russia, the Mir card is mandatory for public sector employees, state company staff, students, pensioners and all social benefit recipients. Federal and regional payments are credited exclusively to Mir. From 2020 to 2022, tourism cashback refunds under the national program were also issued to Mir cardholders.
In 2024, NSPK began integrating national payment cards into service ecosystems, launching regional tourist cards with cashback features. The Karta turista Udmurtskoy Respubliki, or Tourist Card of the Udmurt Republic, introduced in January 2026, is a direct outcome of that initiative.
In effect, a bank card is turning into a universal digital identifier for citizens within the social and service landscape. This reflects a nationwide strategy. National payment systems are not simply substitutes for Visa and Mastercard. They are being positioned as multifunctional tools that underpin the digital infrastructure of social policy.
Scaling the Effect
Udmurtia’s experience creates a pathway for federal rollout. By 2027 – 2028, between 40 and 50 percent of regional social payments could shift to direct SBP transfers with automated eligibility verification.
Electronic certificates could become the default mechanism for family support programs, benefits for eligible groups and housing subsidy recipients. Another option under discussion is paying social benefits in digital rubles. Blockchain technology would allow authorities to define how funds can be spent, for example limiting them to public transport fares or purchases of children’s goods.
Digitalization is merging money, data and services into a single ecosystem centered on the citizen.
