Mastercard, Visa join others, suspend operation in Russia

Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, card payment giants, Visa and Mastercard, announced at the weekend the suspension of operations in the country.

The suspension of the operations of the duo is the latest in major US firms to have joined a business freeze on Moscow over the invasion of its neighbour, Ukraine.

Visa and Mastercard’s announcements came hours after PayPal also halted its services in Russia.

In a statement announcing the move, Mastercard said: “Noting the unprecedented nature of the current conflict and the uncertain economic environment, we have decided to suspend our network services in Russia.

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“Our colleagues, our customers and our partners have been affected in ways that most of us could not imagine”, Mastercard said, stating that its cards issued by Russian banks would no longer be supported by the company’s network.

On its part, Visa said that “effective immediately” it would “work with its clients and partners within Russia to cease all Visa transactions over the coming days.”

Visa similarly added that cards issued in Russia would no longer work outside the country.

US President Joe Biden who welcomed the decision during a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, said he hoped all the sanctions imposed on Russia, would deter it from further aggression.

Major corporations across a range of industries have halted business in Russia since its invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, including everything from US-based tech firms such as Intel and Airbnb to French luxury giants LVMH, Hermes and Chanel.

Visa and Mastercard had already announced that they were complying with U.S. and international sanctions imposed on Russia in the wake of its attack.