US credit card companies Visa and Mastercard have taken steps to implement sanctions against Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, preventing Russian banks from using their network.
The company’s managing director said in a letter published late Monday that Mastercard had “blocked several financial institutions” on its payments network “in response to the sanctions orders”.
“We will continue to work with the regulators in the coming days to fully respect our commitments,” said Michael Maybach.
For its part, Visa indicated on its website that it is “taking swift action to ensure compliance with applicable sanctions.” The group states that it is “ready to comply with any additional sanctions that may be implemented.”
The United States and many Western countries have adopted sanctions against Russian banks and individuals.
For credit card issuers, this means suspending sanctioned entities’ access to their network.
Economic pressure on Russia
The United States, the European Union and other countries have announced that they will exclude some Russian banks from the international banking payment system Swift and from any transaction with the Central Bank of Russia – a measure that will also have an impact on the global economy and that of Brazil.
This Tuesday, it is the turn of the United Kingdom to announce that it has annexed The largest bank in Russia, Sberbankto the list of Russian entities targeted for sanctions in the UK. Several companies announced that they would leave Europe or stop production, as was the case with Hyundai in Saint Petersburg, the second largest in Moscow. The company plans to resume production at the unit on the ninth.
