Yahoo Finance Mastercard and Visa block Russian financial institutions after new sanctions
Mastercard (MA) and Visa (V) have blocked multiple financial institutions in Russia from using their payment networks after the west slapped the country with tougher sanctions.
On Monday night, Mastercard said that it would continue to work with regulators in the coming days, although it did not specify which firms have been restricted.
"We will continue to work with regulators in the days ahead to abide fully by our compliance obligations as they evolve," the company said.
The New York-based company also pledged to contribute $2m (£1.5m) for humanitarian relief for Ukraine.
Visa also made a similar donation, and said its number one priority was “ensuring the safety and security of our colleagues who are directly impacted”.
In a brief statement it said: “Visa Foundation will provide a $2m grant to the US Fund for UNICEF to support humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine.
Read more: How economic sanctions work
“We are proud to support the courageous work of UNICEF and their humanitarian relief efforts. Visa will also double match all employee donations (up to $1m) to the Ukraine response funds of UNICEF and the Red Cross.
“Beyond these efforts, Visa is taking prompt action to ensure compliance with applicable sanctions, and is prepared to comply with additional sanctions that may be implemented.”
The government sanctions require Visa to suspend access to its network for entities listed as Specially Designated Nationals, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.
The United States has added various Russian financial firms to the list, including the country's central bank and second-largest lender VTB.
It comes as Russia continues to battle with the financial fallout from sanctions. The rouble crashed to a record low against the dollar on Monday, plunging 30% to 120 per dollar, with authorities fearing a run on banks.
The Russian central bank more than doubled its key interest rate to 20%, and also announced a slew of other measures to stem the decline.
Read more: What Ukraine invasion means for consumer prices in the UK
Recent sanctions have caused a spike in cryptocurrencies, particularly in Russia and Ukraine.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) trading in the Russian rouble went into overdrive when the invasion began last Thursday with daily volumes rising around 260% from a day earlier to 1.3bn roubles (£9.2m, $13.5m), according to data from CryptoCompare.
“The direct implication of Russian sanctions was a surge in cryptocurrency prices, and especially bitcoin,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said.
“The coin, which was moving along with the risk assets less than a couple of days ago, is now the asset that Russians and Ukrainians rely on to get their funds out of the traditional system which has become very hostile to them.
“Being able to transact value in bitcoin also helps Russian oligarchs go around the western sanctions. It may also help Russian companies and even the Russian central bank to move funds as these entities can no longer access US dollars, and most of the Russian banks are no longer part of the SWIFT system.”