Washington Because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the world’s two largest credit card providers, Visa and Mastercard, are suspending their business in Russia. Visa will work with customers and partners in Russia “to halt all Visa transactions in the coming days,” the company said on Saturday. After that, cards issued in Russia would no longer work abroad. Credit cards issued by financial institutions outside the country could no longer be used in Russia. Mastercard announced identical steps.
Visa CEO Al Kelly said he regretted the impact the measure will have on employees, customers, partners, merchants and cardholders in Russia. “This war and the ongoing threats to peace and stability require that we respond in accordance with our values.”
Mastercard said the decision was not easy to make. “Mastercard has been active in Russia for more than 25 years.” The almost 200 employees will continue to be paid their wages. If it is “reasonable and legally permissible”, they want to resume operations.
Visa and Mastercard had previously stopped processing transactions for Russian banks affected by international sanctions over the Ukraine war. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that of the debit and credit cards issued in Russia, Visa and Mastercard cards accounted for around 74 percent of the country’s payment transactions in 2020.
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The Central Bank of Russia said in a statement on Saturday that all Visa and Mastercard cards issued by Russian banks will continue to function in Russia until their expiration date. Their use is processed in the national payment card system, the sanctions do not affect them. Holders of such cards could continue to withdraw money from ATMs in the country and use them to pay in Russia. Cross-border transactions are not possible, such as purchases in foreign online shops or using the cards abroad.
More: Snakes like in the Soviet era – the war has arrived in the everyday life of the Russians