Mahmoud Vaezi, Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, stated that no negotiations have been conducted for Iran to use the services of the multinational financial company Mastercard. According to a report on Saturday, August 30, by Tasnim News Agency, Mr. Vaezi mentioned that discussions have taken place with the Iranian company VisionCard regarding international credit cards. The Iranian Minister of Communications added, "The distribution of these VisionCards will be the responsibility of the Post Office." Last week, Mr. Vaezi had stated that the National Post Company of Iran signed a contract with a "foreign company" for the use of international credit cards in Iran, naming this foreign company as "VisionCard Iranians." Mastercard had previously denied reports of cooperation with the Islamic Republic. After the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and the subsequent severance of relations with the United States and the imposition of certain sanctions against Iran, the use of international credit cards became impossible due to the inability of American companies Visa and Mastercard to support them. The National Bank of Iran briefly installed Visa and Mastercard terminals in the early 1990s, but these devices became practically unusable due to the intensification of sanctions. Visa operates in California, and Mastercard operates internationally from New York. Banks and financial institutions worldwide can obtain licenses to issue Mastercard and Visa credit cards. In this context, Mastercard stated, "It has no activities in Iran."
Iran's Minister of Communications: No Negotiations Have Taken Place Regarding Mastercard
Iran's Minister of Communications, Mahmoud Vaezi, announced that there have been no negotiations with Mastercard for Iran's access to its services. Instead, discussions are ongoing with a local company, VisionCard, for the distribution of international credit cards. This situation highlights the ongoing challenges Iran faces in accessing global financial services due to sanctions.
👥 Key Players
📰 What Happened
Iran's Minister of Communications announced that there are no negotiations with Mastercard for financial services, while discussions are ongoing with a local company, VisionCard, to distribute international credit cards. This reflects Iran's ongoing struggle to access global financial systems due to sanctions.
- Mastercard has denied any cooperation with Iran.
- Iran's access to international credit cards has been severely restricted since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
💡 Why It Matters
📚 Background
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has faced significant economic sanctions that have restricted its access to international financial systems, including credit card services.
🏷️ Entities Mentioned
Translated from the original and edited for English readers. View original source →
Translation confidence: 85%