Visa, Mastercard suspend operations in Russia

Major corporations across a range of industries have halted business in Russia since its invasion began on February 24

Card payment giants Visa and Mastercard announced on March 5 they will suspend operations in Russia, the latest major U.S. firms to join the business freeze-out of Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

"Noting the unprecedented nature of the current conflict and the uncertain economic environment," Mastercard said it had "decided to suspend our network services in Russia."

Visa, for its part, said that "effective immediately" it would "work with its clients and partners within Russia to cease all Visa transactions over the coming days."

U.S. President Joe Biden "welcomed the decision" during a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in which the two discussed U.S., ally, and private industry actions to deter Russia from aggression, according to a White House readout.

Major corporations across a range of industries have halted business in Russia since its invasion began on February 24, including everything from U.S.-based tech firms such as Intel and Airbnb to French luxury giants LVMH, Hermes and Chanel.

Visa and Mastercard had already announced that they were complying with U.S. and international sanctions imposed on Russia in the wake of its attack.

"Our colleagues, our customers and our partners have been affected in ways that most of us could not imagine," Mastercard said, stating that its cards issued by Russian banks would no longer be supported by the company's network.