New York, Europe Brief News – The financial pressure has been mounting on Russia since Putin Initiated the invasion on neighbouring country Ukraine. Russia receives yet another blow as Mastercard and Visa have decided to suspend their operations in Russia.
Mastercard’s Statement:
Master Card said in a statement “ Cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by its networks and any MasterCard issued outside the country will not work at Russian stores or ATMs.
Mastercard confirmed that they have decided to suspend their operations after consulting with customers, partners and governments.
Statement of Visa:
On the other hand, Visa said that they are in constant touch with their clients and partners in Russia to terminate all Visa transactions in the country in the coming days.
Al Kelly, Visa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said “ We are compelled to act following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed”.
Both the card agencies announced the suspension of their services in Russia one after another privately.
Zelensky Pleaded Card Companies
Earlier in the day, both the companies joined a video call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US lawmakers. During the conversation, Zelensky asked companies to suspend their operations in Russia.
Earlier in the week, Visa and Mastercard had declared more restricted actions to block financial institutions from the networks that serve as arteries for the payment system.
Russian people are already suffering big time as the US and European Union have bombarded them with Dozens of Sanctions. This move can only make things bad to worse for the people.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian currency has experienced an all-time dip and hit more than a third to record low. That’s only causing more inflation in the country and people are uncertain what may happen next.
Several companies all around the globe have made certain efforts to force financial pressure on financial institutions and the people of Russia since the invasion began.
Some are selling their stakes in Russian companies like energy giant BP whereas others like Harley-Davidson halted product shipment in the country.
Al Kelly said “ This war and the ongoing threat to peace and stability demand we respond in the line with our values”.
Mastercard claimed in it’s own filing that about 4% of its net revenues during 2021 was made from business conducted within, into and out of Russia.
