Could you tell me what the current situation is with UnionPay cards issued by Rosselkhozbank (Россельхозбанк) in Italy? Are they accepted in shops or ATMs, or do they no longer work anywhere?
In Florence the card worked fine at a supermarket, but at a minimarket and a café it didn’t. The Maje boutique also declined it. If it’s a UnionPay card without MIR, try a UniCredit or Intesa Sanpaolo ATM — there hasn’t been any official blocking, it just sometimes loses the connection. It’s worse with combined MIR–UnionPay cards: several attempts in different cities got nowhere. People say someone recently managed to withdraw near the airport in Rome.
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I had a Rosselkhozbank (Россельхозбанк) UnionPay card — in Tuscany it worked fine in cafés and small shops, but at Carrefour it never worked — the terminal just freezes there. I withdrew cash from a UniCredit ATM, with no fees and no problems — that’s the most reliable option. My experience with the co-branded Mir (Мир)-UnionPay card is different; I didn’t even try it after being told it doesn’t work anywhere.
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In fact the pattern is the same everywhere - restaurants, cafés and small boutiques go through, while big chains like Carrefour or Esselunga get stuck or are declined. For cash withdrawals, UniCredit ATMs are the most stable — they’ve got UnionPay configured properly there.
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