Payment networks Visa and Mastercard have said they would suspend operations in Russia, dealing a new blow to the country’s financial system after its invasion of Ukraine.
The decision followed a request by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday and threatens to further isolate a Russian economy facing crippling financial sanctions and a string of corporate boycotts.
San Francisco-based Visa said in a statement that it would immediately begin working with clients and partners in Russia to stop all transactions over the coming days. Once the process is completed, transactions by Visa cards issued in Russia will no longer work outside the country, and cards issued elsewhere in the world will not work within Russia.