Russia Ukraine war: Mastercard, Visa suspend operations in Russia

By Sanjay Maurya

Card payment companies Visa and Mastercard say they will suspend operations in Russia, joining a growing list of international companies refusing to do business with Moscow over Ukraine’s invasion.

The actions, which came in response to a request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier on 5^th March, are expected to further isolate Russia’s sanctions-hit economy. Mastercard said that Russian bank cards would no longer be supported by its network and that any card issued outside of Russia will not operate in Russian stores or ATMs.

Mastercard (Financial services company)	Visa (Financial services company)
CEO: Michael Miebach (1 Jan 2021–)	CEO: Alfred F Kelly Jr (1 Dec 2016–)
Headquarters: Purchase, Harrison, New York, United States	Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
Founded: 3 November 1966, United States	Founded: September 1958, Fresno, California, United States
Revenue: 1,888 crores USD (2021)	Revenue: 2,185 crores USD (2020)
Founders: Wells Fargo, First Interstate Bancorp, Crocker National Bank, Bank of California	Founder: Dee Hock
Subsidiaries: Cirrus, Access Prepaid Australia Pty Ltd., Transfast, MORE	Subsidiaries: The Currency Cloud Limited, CyberSource, MORE

Visa also said that cards issued in Russia will no longer work outside the country, adding that it is working with customers and partners in Russia to halt all Visa transactions in the coming days. In a phone discussion with Zelenskyy, US President Joe Biden praised the corporations’ choices.

Visa and Mastercard had announced more restricted actions earlier this week to block financial institutions from the networks that function as payment system arteries. Heavy sanctions and financial penalties imposed by the US government and others have already had a significant impact on the Russian people.

The value of the Russian currency, the ruble, has dropped by more than a third to a new low since the invasion of Ukraine. For Russian households, this is driving up inflation, and the worry has contributed to lengthy queues at ATMs.

Because Russia attacked Ukraine, many other companies across the world have taken steps to raise financial pressure on the country and its people. Some companies, including petroleum giant BP, are selling their shares in Russian enterprises, while others, such as Harley-Davidson, have halted product shipments to the country.