After Visa and Mastercard, American Express announced this Sunday (5) that it will suspend all operations in Russia, in response to the country’s military invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
“As a result, American Express cards issued globally will no longer work at merchants or ATMs in Russia. In addition, cards issued locally in Russia by Russian banks will no longer work outside the country on American Express’ global network,” the operator said in a note posted on its website.
“We are also ending all commercial operations in Belarus. This is in addition to previous steps we have taken, which include terminating our relationships with banks in Russia impacted by US and international government sanctions,” he added.
“Over the past few weeks, we have worked hard to support our colleagues and customers in these countries. While this decision will have an impact on them, we will continue to do what we can to support them.”
Chinese system
In response to the departure of US Visa and Mastercard, the Russian central bank said on Sunday that local lenders will be able to turn to China’s UnionPay system.
The central bank added that many Russian banks plan to issue cards using UnionPay, a system it said is enabled in 180 countries.
While several Russian banks already use UnionPay, others, including Sberbank and Tinkoff, may start issuing cards with Mir Pay, the Russian Central Bank’s payment system alongside UnionPay, he added.
. Posted by Ligia Tuon
Source: CNN Brasil
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