The American card and payment method companies Visa and Mastercard have decided to suspend all their operations in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine and the resulting economic uncertainty that the economic sanctions imposed by many payments around the world have caused in the country.
Both companies have announced it in press releases explaining that their cards will no longer work to make purchases from outside the country, and that the cards issued by Russian banks of these two companies will stop operating in Russian shops and ATMs.
“Effective immediately, Visa will work with its customers and partners within Russia to suspend all Visa transactions in the coming days. Once completed, all transactions initiated with Visa Cards issued in Russia will no longer work outside the country and Visa Cards issued by financial institutions outside of Russia will no longer work within the Russian Federation," the Visa statement explained.
"Our eyes have been forced to act in the face of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the unacceptable events we have witnessed," said Al Kelly, Visa's Chairman and CEO. "This war and the constant threat to peace and stability demand that we respond in accordance with our values," he said.
For its part, Mastercard has appealed to “the unprecedented nature of the current conflict and the uncertain economic environment” to justify its decision to suspend its network services in Russia.
“This decision stemmed from a recent action to block multiple financial institutions in Mastercard red countries, to challenge regulators globally,” the company summarized in a statement.
With this measure, cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be compatible with the Visa and Mastercard networks. In addition, any card from both companies issued outside the country will not work at Russian ATMs or merchants.
