Giants Visa and Mastercard have blocked Russian financial institutions from their networks in response to sanctions targeting Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
See also: Binance: We will not block accounts of Russian users despite Ukraine's request
Last week, Russia launched an unprecedented invasion of Ukraine, forcing the US and governments around the world to impose a series of sanctions aimed at cutting Moscow off from the global financial system.
Last week, the US placed a number of Russian individuals and financial institutions on a sanctions list called Specially Designated Nationals. It effectively bars US companies and people from doing business with any person or entity on that list. Washington also imposed sanctions on Russia's central bank on Monday.
See also: Ukraine – Border: Tesla offers free supercharging
On Monday, Mastercard said it had “excluded multiple financial institutions” from its payments network, without naming any companies or individuals. “We will continue to work with regulators in the coming days to fully meet our compliance obligations as they evolve,” the company added.
And Visa has blocked those on the sanctions list, saying – today Tuesday – that it is “taking immediate steps to ensure compliance with applicable sanctions and that it stands ready to comply with additional sanctions that may be imposed.”.
Visa and Mastercard also pledged $2 million to humanitarian aid funds for Ukraine.
The United States, Canada and European allies agreed on Saturday to remove key Russian banks from the interbank messaging system, SWIFT. This means Russian banks will not be able to communicate securely with banks across their borders.
The widespread sanctions have caused the value of the Russian ruble to plummet.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called on major cryptocurrency exchanges to block the addresses of Russian users.
See also: Microsoft: Ukraine was attacked by FoxBlade malware before the invasion
Binance, the world's largest exchange, said it would block the accounts of sanctioned Russian individuals, but stressed that it would not "unilaterally" freeze the accounts of all Russian users.
Information source: cnbc.com
