Russia is trying to turn the tables on its adversaries in Ukraine by banning foreign-issued credit cards, which had been used as a tool of economic warfare against Russia. Visa and MasterCard have suspended their operations in Russia after being informed that they could be blacklisted soon. PayPal has not yet commented but it’s likely they will follow suit since it uses the same payment process that was affected by this new law.
The latest invasion of Ukraine has caused a greater earthquake in Russia than SWIFT, since major payment processors PayPal, Visa, and Mastercard have all blacklisted Russia. On Saturday, all of the payment processors announced the change.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, rising economic sanctions have thrust Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general back into the limelight. This comes after PayPal, Visa, and MasterCard announced that they were halting business in Russia due to the country’s escalating invasion of Ukraine.
Visa said in a press release that it would begin the process of ceasing transactions in Russia, but that it would take several days. MasterCard, on the other hand, declared in a press statement that its network services will be suspended in Russia, which launched armed troops into Ukraine at the end of February. Andy Gerlt, vice president of worldwide communications at Visa, said:
“All transactions conducted using Visa cards issued in Russia will no longer function outside the nation, and any Visa cards issued by financial institutions outside of Russia will no longer work inside the Russian Federation once the process is complete.”
The unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the heinous crimes that have occurred
In a news release, Visa’s chairman and CEO, Al Kelly, said:
“The company was compelled to act following Russia’s The unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the heinous crimes that have occurred. We regret the impact this will have on our valued colleagues and the clients, partners, merchants, and cardholders we serve in Russia. This war and the ongoing threat to peace and stability demand we respond in line with our values.”
MasterCard followed suit, announcing that, in addition to barring select Russian financial institutions, it had stopped supporting any cards issued by Russian banks and had restricted transactions using cards issued outside Russia but used “at Russian retailers or ATMs.”
PayPal stands with the people of Ukraine and the world community.
Earlier on Saturday, Ukrainian Vice-Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced a similar suspension through Twitter, citing a letter from PayPal CEO Dan Schulman. According to Reuters, PayPal’s closure would “ensure that account balances are disbursed in accordance with relevant rules.” Dan Schulman, the CEO of PayPal, stated:
The CEO of PayPal, @Dan Schulman, sent us a letter. Now it’s official: PayPal’s services in Russia have been suspended due to Ukraine’s aggressiveness. Thank you for your support, @PayPal! I’m hoping you’ll open it up soon for a photo. twitter.com/RaJxEMSLQe
March 5, 2022 — Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo)
“PayPal stands with the people of Ukraine and the world community. in condemning Russia’s violent military aggression in Ukraine.”
Due to the indiscriminate character of the bitcoin market, it is projected that more shops will flock to it as big financial institutions separate Russia from the West via principal payment lines. According to Chainalysis, trade between the Russian currency and cryptocurrencies has increased dramatically. This shows that more individuals are making overseas payments using crypto assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT.
The bitcoin market is set to experience shockwaves.
As Russian peoples and companies look for alternatives and cryptocurrencies remain in sharp focus, the Central Bank of Russia maintains that Russians shouldn’t have anything to do with digital assets. As a result, more The bitcoin market is set to experience shockwaves. in the coming weeks or even the next few years. Tech lawyer Preston Byrne posted to Twitter:
“[The Visa and Mastercard shutdown] is a larger earthquake than SWIFT […] Trillions of dollars will be spent establishing a mirror system that ignores American pressure.”
