Iran Post Company and another local company have arrived at an agreement to offer MasterCard in Iran, which is currently sold at two postal centers.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the ministry’s latest smart-post projects, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi added that after devising the regulations, the international MasterCard can be used in Iran for making purchases, local technology website ICTNA reported.
“The service will be available in 650 cities,” he said.
After western sanctions were eased, Iran got the opportunity to forge cooperation agreements with foreign firms in different areas, including post, telecoms, infrastructures and space technologies.
Vaezi announced that Iran Post Company is prepared to expand cooperation with firms authorized by the Central Bank of Iran to offer international prepaid cards.
The minister also said the newly introduced prepaid cards can be used in over 210 countries that accept MasterCard.
“Negotiations are underway to issue operating licenses for two private post operators, which will help create a more competitive environment in this realm,” he said.
Vaezi noted that the ministry has introduced a new division exclusively dedicated to regulation of postal services, which will closely monitor operations of this sector.
Also present at the event was Iran Post Company’s CEO Hossein Mehri who said that as Iran’s international ties have expanded in recent years, the need for international prepaid cards also increased, therefore the country’s post service signed a deal with a local firm known as Iranian Vision Card.
The new service has been introduced to assist Iranians planning to travel abroad or those that need to purchase international papers or take part in international conferences.
Two postal centers currently offer the cards while more cards are planned to be given to 155 postal centers on the occasion of the Government Week that begins on August 22.
The cap on making purchases via MasterCard is currently $10,000 per day. Mehri explained that this limit has been put in place, as Iran is not a member of World Trade Organization.
“The cards can be recharged at any exchange bureau,” said the CEO of Iranian Vision Card.
Hamed Zolfaqari added that the cards are expected to prevent foreign exchange from exiting the country. He noted that to pilot the use of these cards, 10,000 of them have been distributed among Iranian officials.
“Iran’s Saman Bank is responsible for carrying out the foreign exchange affairs of the cards. This marks the first time Iranians can legally carry out international purchases,” he said.
MasterCard is an American multinational financial services corporation. Throughout the world, its principal business is to process payments between the banks of merchants and the card issuing banks or credit unions of the purchasers who use the MasterCard brand debit and credit cards to make purchases.
