Visa, Mastercard suspend services to Russia after Ukraine invasion

Global payment companies Visa and Mastercard have suspended services to Russia. This means that cards issued by Russian banks will not work outside the country.

In a press release from Visa on the 5th of March, it stated that

Effective immediately, Visa will work with its clients and partners within Russia to cease all Visa transactions over the coming days. 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.

“We are compelled to act following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed,” said Al Kelly, chairman and chief executive officer of Visa Inc. “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.”

Also a press release from Mastercard on the same day stated that

We have previously shared the steps we have taken in response to these events, with the well-being and safety of our employees being our first and foremost priority. And as we have navigated and complied with our regulatory commitments, we have been in constant dialogue with our customers, partners and governments. We’ve received perspectives from our employees, in addition to people across the industry, consumers and our shareholders. We have also considered what would be most important to support the continued availability of services, if possible, to impacted people in the region. 

It’s with all of this in mind – and noting the unprecedented nature of the current conflict and the uncertain economic environment – we have decided to suspend our network services in Russia.   

This decision flows from our recent action to block multiple financial institutions from the Mastercard payment network, as required by regulators globally.   

With this action, cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by the Mastercard network regardless of where they’re used – inside or outside of Russia. And, any Mastercard issued outside of the country will not work at Russian merchants or ATMs.

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US lawmakers recently and asked that they stop the companies’ operations in Russia in the wake of the Russian invasion. Congressman Brad Sherman tweeted his approval that the companies had heeded the call.

In related incidents, the US and European Union have blocked some Russian banks from global financial system SWIFT and PayPal has also halted its operations in the country.

According to Reuters, PayPal shut down operations in the Russia in response to the country’s “violent military aggression in Ukraine. According to President and Chief Executive Dan Schulman, “Under the current circumstances, we are suspending PayPal services in Russia. He added that the company “stands with the international community in condemning Russia’s violent military aggression in Ukraine.”

Other major companies, including Samsung, Microsoft, Apple, and Google have all stopped doing business with Russia