Russian banks consider China UnionPay cards after sanctions

Leading Russian banks are looking into issuing cards that operate on a Chinese payment system after Visa and Mastercard said they would cut their services in Russia over the invasion of Ukraine

LONDON -- Leading Russian banks are looking into issuing cards that operate on a Chinese payment system after Visa and Mastercard said they would cut their services in Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.

Sberbank and Tinkoff Bank said Sunday that they are considering the possibility of payment cards powered by China's UnionPay system. Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, said it would announce the launch date later.

Sberbank and Tinkoff told users that they will be able to use Visa and Mastercard for transactions within Russia but they will stop working for payments outside of the country after Wednesday.

The Russian central bank warned Sunday that all cards using the Visa or Mastercard systems will stop working for both purchases on foreign websites and transactions abroad.