Visa and Mastercard suspend operations in Russia in response to hack

US card operators Visa and Mastercard announced that they are suspending transactions with their flags in Russia in response to the country’s military invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

In the case of Visa, payments using its flag cards issued in Russia will no longer work outside the country, while Visa cards issued in other countries will not be accepted within the Russian network, the company said in a statement on Thursday ( 3). The end of operations should be completed in the next few days.

For the Mastercard brand, cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be accepted on the company’s network, and cards issued elsewhere will also not be accepted at Russian merchants and ATMs, the company said in a statement released on Saturday (5). .

“We are compelled to act after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the unacceptable events we have witnessed,” Visa Global President Al Kelly said in the statement.

“We regret the impact this will have on our valued colleagues and the customers, partners, merchants and cardholders we serve in Russia. This war and the ongoing threat to peace and stability demand that we respond in accordance with our values,” he added.

In its note, Mastercard also stated that it began to review operations in the country after the outbreak of the conflict.

“For more than a week, the world has been watching the shocking and devastating events resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Our colleagues, customers and partners have been affected in ways most of us could not imagine.”

“With all this in mind – and noting the unprecedented nature of the current conflict and the climate of economic uncertainty – we have decided to suspend services to our network in Russia.”

The blockades come after the two companies had already removed Russian financial institutions from their network at the beginning of the month, in compliance with financial embargoes established by the US government.