"It's Better to Have Cash in Your Pocket": Paying for Fuel with Dina Cards at NIS Gas Stations in Question

Paying for fuel at NIS gas stations is once again in the spotlight after foreign cards such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express were disabled on October 10 due to U.S. sanctions against the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS).

21.10.2025. 09:59

"It's Better to Have Cash in Your Pocket": Paying for Fuel with Dina Cards at NIS Gas Stations in Question

Now, the question arises whether the domestic Dina card will soon stop working as well.

According to available information, the U.S. administration has issued a warning to the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) over the use of the Dina card, which opens the possibility of a broader package of sanctions. Experts warn that such a scenario could cause additional queues at gas stations.

If the Dina card were to be discontinued, citizens would be left with two options — paying in cash or transferring money directly via mobile or online banking, as well as using the NIS app.

"Two payment methods would remain for buying fuel at NIS stations if Dina card payments were also abolished. One is paying in cash, and the other is a direct transfer through e-banking to the account. Essentially, it’s not a card payment but a transfer order. Until now, the public has often been encouraged to use cards and cashless payments, but it now turns out that it’s better to have cash in your pocket — at least when it comes to NIS," said Dejan Gavrilovic from the consumer association Efektiva for Newsmax Balkans.

An additional question that arises is whether the possible discontinuation of the Dina card would create a need for printing more money.

Economist Aleksandar Stevanovic believes there is no need for that.

"People will simply go to ATMs and withdraw cash, and that doesn’t lead to higher inflation. Americans don’t like it when sanctions are circumvented in a clumsy way. When we tried to change ownership, they told us, ‘Do you really think we don’t know that?’ It’s the same with trying to bypass sanctions through Dina cards. The banks that issue those cards could very quickly find themselves under U.S. sanctions as well," Stevanovic told Newsmax Balkans.

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