The international payment system Visa will suspend work on the territory of the Russian Federation in connection with the events in Ukraine.

This was announced on the night of Sunday, March 6, by the press service of the company.

“Visa will work with its customers and partners in Russia to stop all Visa transactions in the coming days.

When this goal is achieved, all transactions using Visa cards issued in Russia will no longer be made outside the country, and all Visa cards issued by financial institutions outside of Russia will no longer be valid in the Russian Federation, ”the statement says. message.

A similar decision was made in the financial corporation Mastercard.

The system will also no longer support cards issued by Russian banks abroad, and Mastercard cards received abroad will no longer work in Russia.

As emphasized in the company, the system will restore work, "when it is appropriate" and "allowed by law."

At the same time, back in early March, Visa and Mastercard announced plans to disconnect only a few Russian banks from their systems.

As the companies explained at the time, the decision was made in connection with the decisions of the United States and other countries on sanctions against Moscow.

Recall that on February 21, Vladimir Putin announced the recognition of the independence of the DPR and LPR, and on the 24th he announced the start of a special operation to protect the Donbass republics from aggression from Ukraine.

In response, the European Union, the United States and a number of other states began to impose anti-Russian restrictions.

The restrictions affected companies and banks of the country, and seven credit institutions were disconnected from the SWIFT financial messaging system.

The sanctions also affected the aviation industry and the supply of high-tech products to Russia.

Half of the Central Bank's gold and foreign exchange reserves were frozen, the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was canceled, and many Western companies announced their withdrawal from the Russian Federation.

At the same time, even after the complete cessation of Visa and Mastercard in Russia, cards of both payment systems issued by local banks will continue to work in the country until their expiration date.

This was reported in the Central Bank.

“Operations on them are processed within the country in the National Payment Card System (NSPK), and sanctions do not affect them.

Client funds on accounts linked to such cards are fully preserved and available," the Central Bank stressed.

The regulator also added that cardholders in Russia will still be able to pay with them in stores, conduct transactions at ATMs and make money transfers.

However, Visa and Mastercard transactions abroad will not be available.

We are talking not only about settlements in other countries, but also about paying for purchases in foreign online stores.

“In case of traveling abroad, it is recommended to take cash and a MIR card for those countries where it is accepted.

Today, these are Turkey, Vietnam, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, South Ossetia and Abkhazia,” the Central Bank noted.

In peaceful way

Recall that back in 2015, all transactions with Visa and Mastercard cards in Russia began to be processed by NSPK.

And in 2016, the country began issuing cards of the MIR payment system.

According to the latest data from the Central Bank, more than 108 million such cards have been issued, and they account for 25.2% of all card transactions in Russia.

“In today's situation, hype and panic must be avoided.

Now there is absolutely no point in running to the bank and asking to reissue Visa or Mastercard cards to MIR cards.

Your bank will routinely re-issue these cards without any fuss or haste when the time comes: either after the expiration date, or as part of the plans that each bank develops independently.

The cards will continue to work on the territory of Russia.

There will be no problems with this, ”NSPK CEO Vladimir Komlev told RT.

In his opinion, Visa and Mastercard cardholders may experience difficulties when paying for purchases using Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay services.

However, standard contact or contactless payment with these cards is available in full on the territory of the Russian Federation and in Russian online stores.

Russians can issue a MIR card both on a plastic carrier and without it.

According to Vladimir Komlev, the MIR digital card can be loaded into the Mir Pay mobile payment service.

Moreover, to pay for purchases and withdraw cash abroad, it is possible to issue a joint card of the MIR platform and the Chinese UnionPay payment system.

Such a card will allow paying for purchases and withdrawing cash in Russia and in 180 other countries around the world, the NSPK stressed.

  • AGN "Moscow"

  • © Zykov Kirill

The decision of Visa and MasterCard to leave the Russian market could lead to serious financial losses for both companies.

This point of view in an interview with RT was expressed by Alexander Razuvaev, a member of the Supervisory Board of the Guild of Financial Analysts and Risk Managers.

Organizations can also incur significant reputational costs, he said.

So, even if corporations return to Russia, their services will not be in such high demand, the specialist is sure.

“I think that Visa and Mastercard took such steps due to pressure from Western governments.

In any case, they will try to return to the country as soon as geopolitical tensions begin to fall.

Another thing is that not all Russians will want to return to them, but how they will again win a loyal audience in Russia is a big question, ”concluded Razuvaev.