Paypal, Visa & Mastercard Sanction Russia
In a demonstration of how banking is being used to sanction Russia Paypal, Visa and Mastercard have all announced that they are going to be withholding services in Russia as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.
It has been described as a banking ‘earthquake‘ of epic proportion even more severe than the cutting off of several banks from SWIFT. Picture trying to go to the shops or movies and suddenly not being able to use your cards to transact. It places even more pressure on the Banks in Russia as consumers are forced to try and withdraw cash to pay bills. Since banks traditionally do not carry a lot of cash this is a big problem. Efforts are being made by the banks in Russia to try and have more cash on hand especially as the value of the Rubble has tumbled and prices and inflation are shooting up all over Russia as a result of the international sanctions.
Read More: What is SWIFT and why did they cut off Russian banks from their network?
These large companies are the latest in a slew of companies and firms that have cut off services in Russia (and many in Belarus as well).
