Russian banks consider Chinese UnionPay cards after sanctions
London, Mar 7: Leading Russian banks are looking into issuing cards that operate on a Chinese payment system after Visa and Mastercard said they would cut their services in Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.
Sberbank and Tinkoff Bank said on Sunday that they are considering the possibility of payment cards powered by China's UnionPay system. Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, said it would announce the launch date later.
Sberbank and Tinkoff told users that they will be able to use Visa and Mastercard for transactions within Russia but they will stop working for payments outside of the country after Wednesday.
The Russian central bank warned on Sunday that all cards using the Visa or Mastercard systems will stop working for both purchases on foreign websites and transactions abroad.
Russian banks are scrambling to find new ways to facilitate cross-border payments after a host of foreign companies suspended financial services, part of a larger move by the West to isolate Russia and cut it off from the global financial system.
Along with Visa and Mastercard, American Express also withdrew its services over the weekend.
They followed major brands from Apple to Shell and Ikea in pulling out of Russia. But China has reaffirmed its ties, with the foreign minister on Monday calling Russia Beijing's most important strategic partner.
China has refused to criticise the invasion of Ukraine but tried to distance itself by calling for dialogue and respect of national sovereignty.
The Chinese payment processor UnionPay benefits from its position as a payment monopoly bolstered by the large Chinese population and the world's second-largest economy, helping it to grow into a serious rival to Visa and Mastercard.
UnionPay cards are accepted at physical stores in 180 countries and regions and at online stores in 200 countries and regions, according to its website.
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MP: Congress claims national water award won with AI-images; administration rejects charge
Indore/Khandwa (PTI): The Congress has accused the Madhya Pradesh government of corruption, claiming that the Khandwa district administration won a national water conservation award using AI-generated images, a claim dismissed by authorities.
Khandwa district secured first place nationwide for outstanding work in water conservation under the Centre's 'Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari' campaign. It received a Rs 2 crore award at the sixth National Water Awards ceremony held in New Delhi in November, officials said on Monday.
They said the Kaveshwar panchayat in Khandwa district also won the second prize in the best gram panchayat category at the ceremony.
MP Congress president Jitu Patwari, in a post on X, alleged, "Where the BJP government should teach our children the proper use of AI, it is itself indulging in corruption using AI. In Khandwa, officials of the BJP government turned two-foot-deep pits into wells using AI, and uploaded AI-generated images of various development works across the area on the portal."
Based on these images, they even took an award from the Honourable President, he alleged.
"When the ground reality came to light, fields and empty grounds were found there. Clearly, this was not water conservation, but a game of technology-created images. Under the BJP rule, corruption has also become smart," he added.
As the controversy over the allegations linked to the National Water Award escalated, the Khandwa administration held a press conference to clarify its position.
District Panchayat Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nagarjun B Gowda said that uploading AI-generated images had no connection whatsoever with the National Water Award.
He said "verified images after thorough scrutiny" of 1,29,046 works carried out under the 'Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari' campaign were uploaded on the campaign's JSJB portal.
Gowda said the Union Jal Shakti Ministry verified all these images and conducted random field inspections of one per cent of the total works.
"Prima facie, false news about water conservation works carried out in Khandwa district is being spread by some social media accounts," he added.
He said photographs related to water conservation are uploaded on another portal named 'Catch the Rain' only for educational and motivational purposes.
"The district administration has found that 21 images generated through AI were uploaded on the Catch the Rain portal. This was possibly done with malicious intent. The district administration is taking action against those who uploaded these images," the CEO added.
"The Catch the Rain portal is completely different from the Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari campaign portal. Awards under the Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari campaign are not considered based on images uploaded on the Catch the Rain portal," Gowda added.
More than 1.25 lakh water conservation works were carried out in Khandwa district under the 'Jal Sanchay, Jan Bhagidari' campaign, the highest in the country, he added.
