YEREVAN, September 28. / ARKA /. VTB Bank (Armenia) said today it has joined the MasterCard international payment system as an Acquirer and Issuer, which will allow it to issue MasterCard cards and service them via its ATM network and also carry out merchant acquiring.

The Bank offers the following multi-currency cards - Cirrus / Maestro, MasterCard Standard and Gold. These cards are accepted by all branches of the bank, its ATMs, retail and POS- terminals of VTB Bank (Armenia) and other banks both in Armenia and abroad.

A MasterCard holder, like holders of other banking cards issued by VTB Bank (Armenia) may have four accounts in Armenian drams, US Dollars, Russian rubles and euros. Money can be added to the accounts through 900 TelCell payment terminals in Yerevan and the regions of Armenia. Cards can be obtained from the 28th of September in all branches of the Bank.

VTB Bank (Armenia) CEO Yuri Gusev was quoted as saying in a press release that joining the international payment system MasterCard reflects the bank's commitment to promote the development of the internal system of cashless payments in order to increase their share in the total amount of payments for goods and services. MasterCard unites 22,000 financial institutions in 210 countries and has a uniform discount system.

VTB Bank (Armenia) is also a full member of the international payment system VISA International. It has 280,000 Visa card holders, more than any other local bank. VTB Bank (Armenia) is also a serving member of the local Armenian ArCa payment system.

VTB Bank (Armenia) is owned fully by Russian financial group VTB. The Bank runs 67 branches, more than any other local bank in Armenia. -0-