Falling to the public pressure to suspend operations in Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine, Visa, Mastercard and PayPal have decided to suspend operations in Russia this weekend.
According to a press release, Visa will disable transactions in Russia but the closure could still take a few days. Mastercard also released a statement saying it would leave Russia.
In Visa’s statement, global communications vice president Andy Gerlt, said:
“Once complete, all transactions initiated with Visa cards issued in Russia will no longer work outside the country and any Visa cards issued by financial institutions outside of Russia will no longer work within the Russian Federation.”
Visa’s Chairman and CEO Al Kelly said:
“We are compelled to act following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed. We regret the impact this will have on our valued colleagues, and on the clients, partners, merchants and cardholders we serve in Russia. This war and the ongoing threat to peace and stability demand we respond in line with our values.”
Just like Visa, Mastercard said it will not only be blocking some Russian financial institutions but it will also end support for cards issued by Russian banks while not allowing transactions from cards issued outside Russia but used “at Russian merchants or ATMs.”
PayPal also joins the ban of Russia with its President and Chief Executive Offices Dan Schulman explaining that under “the current circumstances,” PayPal stands with the international community and condemns Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine.
A PayPal spokesperson added that withdrawals will still be possible for an undisclosed period of time as it will “ensure that account balances are dispersed in line with applicable laws and regulations.”
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Source: Igaming
