New Delhi: India and Russia are exploring the possibility of accepting RuPay and Mir cards in each other's country for smoother transactions, particularly given the economic sanctions imposed by the West on Moscow, media reports said.

The matter was discussed in the recent high-level meeting of the Internal Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC).

The mutual acceptance of RuPay and Mir cards would make it easier for Indian and Russian citizens to make payments in their respective countries using Indian rupees and Russian ruble, respectively, without any inconvenience or complications.

The meeting attended by top officials of both countries was chaired by India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.

During the meeting was also decided to explore the potential for interaction between India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) developed by the National Payment Corporation of India and Russia's Faster Payments System (FPS) developed by the Bank of Russia.

The officials agreed to consider the adoption of the Russian financial messaging system, Services Bureau of Financial Messaging System of the Bank of Russia, to facilitate cross-border payments.

India and other countries use the SWIFT network for cross-border payments, and given the current sanctions, it would not be practical for India to consider alternatives to the SWIFT network, according to sources.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong launched the cross-border connectivity between UPI and PayNow.

The recent integration between India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Singapore's PayNow enables individuals in both countries to conduct speedy and cost-effective digital transfers.