Visa, Mastercard suspension halt Russian business

Russia’s financial system suffers yet another blow as Mastercard and Visa announce they are suspending operations in the country.

On Saturday, MasterCard and Visa announced they would cease all operations in the country amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The moves come shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for tougher sanctions on Russia, including the suspension of all commercial transactions.

“Effective immediately, Visa will work with its clients and partners within Russia to cease all Visa transactions over the coming days,” Visa said in a press release. “Once complete, all transactions initiated with Visa cards issued in Russia will no longer work outside the country and any Visa cards issued by financial institutions outside of Russia will no longer work within the Russian Federation.”

Mastercard issued a similar statement on Saturday, saying it came to the decision after discussions with customers, partners, and various governments.