Two more financial services companies have announced that they are ending operations in Russia following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.
American Express announced on Sunday that they were suspending all operations in Russia because of its “unjustified attack on the people of Ukraine”:
As a result, globally issued American Express cards will no longer work at merchants or ATMs in Russia. Additionally, cards issued locally in Russia by Russian banks will no longer work outside of the country on the American Express global network. We are also terminating all business operations in Belarus. This is in addition to the previous steps we have taken, which include halting our relationships with banks in Russia impacted by the U.S. and international government sanctions.
Over the past few weeks, we have been working hard to back our colleagues and customers in these countries. While this decision will have an impact on them, we will continue to do what we can to support them. One of our company values is to “Do What is Right.” This principle has guided us throughout this difficult crisis and will continue to do so, as we stand by our colleagues, customers, and the international community in hoping for a peaceful resolution to this crisis.
PayPal announced on Saturday that it was also suspending operations in Russia with Dan Schulman, PayPal’s chief executive, saying in a statement, “Under the current circumstances, we are suspending PayPal services in Russia.”
Visa and Mastercard announced on Saturday that they also suspended all operations in Russia following the invasion.
“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 statement. “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.”
Al Kelly, chairman and chief executive officer of Visa Inc., said in a statement that the company was “compelled to act” due to the “unacceptable events that we have witnessed.”
“We regret the impact this will have on our valued colleagues, and on the clients, partners, merchants and cardholders we serve in Russia,” Kelly continued. “This war and the ongoing threat to peace and stability demand we respond in line with our values.”
Mastercard said in a statement that it was suspending its operations after “the world has watched the shocking and devastating events resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
“It’s with all of this in mind – and noting the unprecedented nature of the current conflict and the uncertain economic environment – we have decided to suspend our network services in Russia,” Mastercard said in a statement. “This decision flows from our recent action to block multiple financial institutions from the Mastercard payment network, as required by regulators globally. With this action, cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by the Mastercard network. And, any Mastercard issued outside of the country will not work at Russian merchants or ATMs.”