Visa And Mastercard Suspend Operations In Russia
Visa and Mastercard have announced that they are suspending operations in Russia following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
This means credit and debit cards issued by the two companies, which account for 90 percent of all card payments outside of China, will no longer work outside Russia.
It also means businesses and cash machines in Russia will not be able to accept cards from outside the country.
This move is expected to be another major financial hit to Russia following the collapse of the rouble and the refusal to open the stock market for fear of what the result might be when they do.
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Nato nations have repeatedly insisted they are not intending to send troops to support Ukrainian efforts to repel the invaders, but have backed a massive wave of sanctions against businesses and oligarchs with ties to the Putin regime.
According to Sky News, a growing number of businesses are cutting ties with Russia in the wake of Putin's invasion as many countries have imposed tough economic sanctions.
Apple, Microsoft, PayPal and even IKEA are among the businesses which Visa and Mastercard have joined in their boycott of Russia while the invasion of Ukraine continues.
Visa chief executive Al Kelly said the company felt 'compelled to act' after 'Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine', while Mastercard described the current conflict as 'shocking and devastating'.
Mastercard said they hoped the 'difficult days' would give way to a 'more positive, productive and peaceful future for us all'.
Meanwhile, a number of cryptocurrency platforms have made it clear they have no intentions of cutting off Russia despite Putin's invasion of Ukraine killing thousands and forcing over a million people to flee the country.
Coinbase and Binance have repeatedly insisted Russian users will not be banned from their platforms, leading to concerns that wealthy individuals may attempt to use cryptocurrency to get around sanctions freezing their assets.
Brian Armstrong, chief executive of Coinbase, has said he doesn't think many in Russia would be able to use cryptocurrency to get around sanctions.
Joe Harker