Visa and Mastercard have announced this Saturday the suspension of all operations and services they provide in Russia in response to the Kremlin’s military operation in Ukraine. Visa has already put in place the procedures to cease all transactions with its cards in the coming days and, once the process is complete, its cards issued in Russia will no longer work outside the territory of the country, just as they will not work inside it either. of Russia cards issued abroad.
Mastercard has also notified that its cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by its network, while cards issued in other countries “will not work at Russian merchants or ATMs.” Among other things, the company cited “the unprecedented nature of the current conflict and the uncertain economic environment” as a reason for its decision to exit the Russian market.
“This decision follows our recent action to block several financial institutions from the Mastercard payments network, as required by regulators worldwide,” said a press release. “In taking this step, we join many others in hope and commitment to a more positive, productive and peaceful future for all of us,” the company concludes.
For its part, Visa limited itself to indicating that it regrets the impact that the measure will have on its colleagues, clients, partners, merchants and cardholders, stating that “the threat to peace and stability demands” that they respond in accordance with their values. .
In addition to the most popular payment systems, Russia has also had national Mir cards for several years, which were initially used only for payments on the territory of the country. Today, they are also accepted in Turkey, Vietnam, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and the territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, according to the Russian Central Bank.
