Because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US credit card providers Visa, Mastercard and American Express are suspending their business with Russia. Visa will work with customers and partners in Russia “to halt all Visa transactions in the coming days,” the company said on Saturday.
After that, cards issued in Russia would no longer work abroad. Credit cards issued by financial institutions outside the country could no longer be used in Russia. Mastercard announced identical steps.
Visa CEO Al Kelly said he regretted the impact the measure will have on employees, customers, partners, merchants and cardholders in Russia. “This war and the ongoing threat to peace and stability require that we respond in accordance with our values.” The company felt compelled to act after “Russia’s baseless invasion of Ukraine.”
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Mastercard said the decision was not easy to make. “Mastercard has been active in Russia for more than 25 years.” The almost 200 employees will continue to be paid their wages. If it is “reasonable and legally permissible”, they want to resume operations.
The Central Bank of Russia said in a statement on Saturday:
- all Visa and Mastercard cards issued by Russian banks continued to function in Russia until their expiry date.
- Their use is processed in the national payment card system, the sanctions do not affect them.
- Holders of such cards could continue to withdraw money from ATMs in the country and use them to pay in Russia.
- Cross-border transactions are not possible, such as purchases in foreign online shops or using the cards abroad.
Visa and Mastercard announced the move on Saturday. American Express, the third largest credit card provider in the world, followed suit on Sunday. “In light of Russia’s continued unjustified aggression against the Ukrainian people, American Express is suspending all operations in Russia,” the company said in a statement in New York. The measure also applies to Belarus.
Visa and Mastercard had previously stopped processing transactions for Russian banks affected by international sanctions over the Ukraine war.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that of the debit and credit cards issued in Russia, Visa and Mastercard cards accounted for around 74 percent of the country’s payment transactions in 2020.
Sberbank informs clients about imminent system failures
Russia’s largest bank – the as-yet-unsanctioned Sberbank – pledged on Sunday morning that Russian Visa and Mastercard customers will be able to use their cards to pay and withdraw money within the country even after the shutdown in shops, online commerce or transfers. The banking transactions could be done independently of the international systems, it said.
But those who live abroad should now quickly withdraw money from the cards or pay for larger expenses before the systems stop working, the bank said on Sunday.
Although the appeal was only aimed at people living abroad with Russian Visa and Mastercard cards, long queues formed at ATMs in Moscow on Sunday morning. (dpa)