American Express is joining Visa, Mastercard and PayPal in suspending operations in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, a press release said.
“As a result, globally issued American Express cards will no longer work at merchants or ATMs in Russia,” the company said Sunday (March 6). “Additionally, cards issued locally in Russia by Russian banks will no longer work outside of the country on the American Express global network. We are also suspending all business operations in Belarus. This is in addition to the previous steps we have taken, which include halting our relationships with banks in Russia impacted by the U.S. and international government sanctions.”
Amex said that, in the crisis, it has prioritized “the wellbeing of our colleagues.” Amex doesn’t employ anyone directly in Ukraine, but the company said it has hundred in neighboring countries and dozens in Russia.
Read more: Mastercard, Visa Suspend Russian Operations, Condemn Unprovoked Attack on Ukraine
Mastercard and Visa on Saturday announced their exit from Russia over the war in Ukraine.
The companies – the biggest credit card and digital payment processors in the world – issued statements very close to one another, both saying they wouldn’t be working with Russia because of its initiation of war.
“With this action, cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by the Mastercard network. And, any Mastercard issued outside of the country will not work at Russian merchants or ATMs,” Mastercard said.
And Visa added that it would be working to cut out all transactions there in the next few days.
Visa Chairman and CEO Al Kelly said the company felt remorse over how the action would have on Russian employees and regular people, it didn’t have any other option.
“This war and the ongoing threat to peace and stability demand we respond in line with our values,” Kelly said in a statement.
PayPal also suspended its service in Russia on Saturday, according to a letter to the Ukrainian government from CEO Dan Schulman.
The payment processor had already discontinued domestic services in Russia in 2020. This latest action relates to its remaining cross-border payments business in the country.
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