Russian banks will begin issuing cards using the Chinese UnionPay system, in conjunction with Russia’s Mir network, after Visa and Mastercard announced they would be the latest payment services to suspend operations in Russia amid the invasion of Ukraine.
Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, along with Alfa-Bank and Tinkoff, announced the switch to UnionPay Sunday, according to Reuters.
Visa and Mastercard announced their decisions to suspend services Saturday evening following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s plea to U.S. lawmakers earlier in the day, which reportedly included a call for credit card access to be cut off from Russia’s economy.
“We are compelled to act following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed,” said Visa CEO Al Kelly. “We regret the impact this will have on our valued colleagues, and on the clients, partners, merchants and cardholders we serve in Russia.”
Visa said it is working with partners to stop all transactions within Russia over the coming days.
“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,” Visa said in a statement.
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Mastercard, too, announced it will cease to support transactions within Russia, noting that all cards issued outside of Russia will also not work within the country’s borders.
“We don’t take this decision lightly,” Mastercard said in a statement. “These have been and will continue to be very difficult days — most of all for our employees and their families in Ukraine; for our colleagues with relatives and friends in the region; for our colleagues in Russia; and for the rest of us who are watching from afar.”
Mastercard said it would continue to provide pay and benefits to its nearly 200 Russian employees.
While speaking with U.S. lawmakers Saturday morning, Zelensky reportedly noted that cutting off credit card access within Russia would place pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Anything that could hurt the Russian economy will help the Ukrainian people and make this war more difficult,” Zelensky said, according to the Associated Press.
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In a White House statement released late Saturday night, President Joe Biden welcomed the credit card companies’ decision to suspend services in Russia and noted an increase in humanitarian and economic aid to Ukraine.
