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Following sanctions, Visa and Mastercard block service in Russia

Visa Mastercard Settlement
Posted at 3:48 PM, Mar 01, 2022
and last updated 2022-03-01 17:28:26-05

Visa and Mastercard say they are complying with sanctions against Russia.

By complying, the companies are blocking sanctioned Russian banks from using their payment networks.

"As a result of sanction orders, we have blocked multiple financial institutions from the Mastercard payment network," the company said in a statement. "We will continue to work with regulators in the days ahead to abide fully by our compliance obligations as they evolve."

Visa said it's taking action as well, and prepared if more sanctions are brought in the future.

"Visa is taking prompt action to ensure compliance with applicable sanctions, and is prepared to comply with additional sanctions that may be implemented," the company said.

The international community placed sanctions on oligarchs and major Russian banks following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The move has been catastrophic for the ruble, the national currency of Russia. According to CNBC, the ruble dropped as much as 30% against the dollar this week, marking an all-time low.

In addition to complying with sanctions, Visa and Mastercard said they are each donating $2 million to humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine.