Lithuania prepares banking system for mobilization. Cards will work without internet

Lithuanian Minister of Defence Dovilė Šakalienė and a group of Social Democratic MPs submitted draft amendments to the law on cashless offline payments.

The bill passed its first reading in the Lithuanian parliament at the end of April. If the unicameral Lithuanian parliament adopts the amendments during the spring session, the offline payment system could be launched within a few months, Simonas Krėpšta, a member of the Bank of Lithuania's board, told Lithuanian broadcaster LRT. Lithuania thus wants to be ready for hybrid attacks from Russia and Belarus, which would also involve cutting off optical fibers placed on the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

"We are now focusing on mobilization, because we have such a task and we are striving to have this functionality ready in case of mobilization announcement. Of course, these are related issues. If there are any sabotages or other events, the mobilization system could be activated," said S. Krėpšta.

Access to offline shopping, according to information provided by the Bank of Lithuania, would only be possible for basic necessities and would include grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations, and not, for example, cafes or restaurants.

The card payment system without the Internet is implemented in cooperation between the Ministry of Defence of Lithuania, the Government, the Bank of Lithuania and must be coordinated with Visa and Mastercard card companies, banks and merchants.

Similar solutions, according to Reuters, are also being implemented in other Northern European countries: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Estonia.