Bank of Russia: Sanctions May Hinder Card Use

The Bank of Russia said that customers of some banks being sanctioned by the U.S. and other governments may be cut off from using their cards and mobile payment systems.

As Reuters reported Friday (Feb. 25), the central bank said debit and credit cards issued by VTB, private lender Sovcombank, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank and Otkritie Bank would continue working in Russia without restrictions.

“Cards from these banks will not be able to be used with the ApplePay and GooglePay services, but standard contact or contactless payment with these cards is available in full throughout Russia,” the bank said.

Read more: VTB: Sanctions Will Limit Card Use Outside Russia

Russia’s banks were the targets of sweeping sanctions imposed Thursday by the U.S., the U.K., Japan and a host of countries in Europe and Oceania aimed at penalizing the country following its invasion of Ukraine.

The central bank’s announcement did not mention lender Sberbank, which said late on Thursday it was operating normally and examining the implications of sanctions.

The U.S. Treasury has said Americans must cut their correspondent banking ties with Sberbank within 30 days. The U.K., meanwhile has announced it will impose asset freezes against all major banks in Russia.

Sberbank has nearly 102 million customers in Russia and operates in 17 other countries, Reuters said. VTB, Russia’s second largest lender after Sberbank, warned Friday (Feb. 25) that the sanctions would impact the use of its cards outside of Russia.

See also: Biden, European Leaders Double Down on Russia Sanctions

According to Reuters, the Bank of Russia is instituting measures to help the banking sectors and the Russian ruble. It eased some banking regulations and told the banks to think about holding off on issuing dividends and bonuses to managers.

A few of the sanctioned banks — Sberbank, VTB, Alfa-Bank and Otkritie — issued a statement Friday (Feb. 25) to ease customers’ worries.

“The banking community is prepared for different scenarios: we have enough liquidity to meet demand, and there are no restrictions on withdrawing cash either at ATMs or branches,”  the banks said in a joint statement.