The payment multinationals Mastercard and Visa have announced that they will suspend their operations in Russia in protest at the invasion of Ukraine.
Mastercard indicated in a statement that Russian banks will no longer be compatible with its network and that any card issued by the company outside the country will not work in Russian merchants or ATMs.
The company said that, after considering the views of its clients and partners, it made its decision due to the “unprecedented nature of the current conflict and the uncertain economic environment”.
For its part, Visa assured that it will cease its transactions in the country in the coming days in a similar way to those of its competitor: your cards issued abroad will not work in Russia and vice versa
.
Al Kelly, executive director and president of Visa, alleged that the company has been “forced to act after the invas unprovoked ion from Russia to Ukraine and the unacceptable events we have witnessed”.
“We regret the impact this will have on our valued colleagues and customers, partners, merchants and cardholders we serve in Russia. This war and the constant threat to peace and stability require that we respond in accordance with our values”, he concluded.
Visa and Mastercard’s decision comes days after, in a first response to the invasion of Ukraine, both companies will announce the blocking of some Russian banks from their payment systems.
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