“We are forced to act following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the unacceptable events we have witnessed,” Visa CEO Al Kelly said in a statement.
“We regret the impact this will have on our valued colleagues, and the customers, partners, merchants and cardholders we serve in Russia. This war and ongoing threat to peace and stability demands that we respond in line with our values,” he added.
Mastercard MA.N said that its cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be compatible with their networks and that any company cards issued outside of Russia will not work at Russian ATMs or merchants.
The company said it decided to suspend its network services in Russia following its recent action to block multiple Russian financial institutions from the company’s payment network, as required by regulators globally.
Visa also said this week that it has blocked multiple Russian financial institutions from its network in compliance with government sanctions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Tass news agency reported that Sberbank Rossii PAO sber.mm, Russia’s largest lender, said that the sanctions announced by Visa and Mastercard will not affect users of the cards it issues in Russia.
