Payment companies Visa, Mastercard and PayPal announced on Saturday (5) the suspension of their activities in Russia, in response to the war provoked by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine.
“With immediate effect, Visa will work with its customers and partners in Russia to close all Visa transactions within the next few days,” the card company says in a press release.
Transactions with cards issued under the company’s flag in Russia will no longer work outside the country. In addition, Visa cards issued by financial institutions outside Russia will no longer work within the country.
“We are compelled to act in the wake of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the unacceptable events we have witnessed,” said Al Kelly, CEO of Visa, in a statement. “We regret the impact this will have on our customers, partners, merchants and cardholders we serve in Russia. This war and the ongoing threat to peace and stability require that we respond in accordance with our values,” he added.
Mastercard also said that cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be accepted by the company’s network. And that all Mastercard-branded cards issued outside the country will not work at Russian merchants or ATMs.
“As we take this step, we join so many others in hope and commitment to a more positive, productive and peaceful future for all of us,” Mastercard said in a statement.
The company also highlighted that “Cyber and intelligence teams will continue to work with governments and partners around the world to ensure that the stability, integrity and resilience of our systems continue to guide our operations in response to potential cyberattacks.”
In the case of PayPal, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, informed in a post on Twitter that the company’s activities in Russia had been suspended.
Fedorov published a letter that he said was received from PayPal CEO Dan Schulman. In the text, the executive says that the means of payment company has decided to suspend operations in Russia in support of Ukraine.
“PayPal supports the Ukrainian people and stands with the international community in condemning Russia’s violent military attacks in Ukraine,” the document reads. Sought, the company confirmed the information.
“PayPal has been working closely with governments and partners to comply with all applicable laws and sanctions,” the company said.
Visa, Mastercard and PayPal join a series of multinational companies that over the last few days had already taken the same decision to stop their activities on Russian soil, in retaliation for the attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Companies like Shell and BP have abandoned billion-dollar deals in Russia, while Volvo, Apple and transport giants MSC and Maersk have suspended shipments.
The Inditex group, which controls the clothing Zara, also paralyzed the operations of its 502 stores in the country, as well as its main competitor, H&M.
In addition, the Italian government announced this Saturday that it had frozen assets of Russian oligarchs in the country valued at 140 million euros (R$ 775.7 million), including the yachts embargoed on Friday (4).
The most valuable asset blocked is the Lady M yacht, valued at 65 million euros (R$ 360.1 million), belonging to Alexei Mordashov, an oligarch close to Vladimir Putin, who was the target of European Union sanctions after the invasion. Russian in Ukraine.
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