Ukraine war: PayPal, Visa, Mastercard suspend its services in Russia

PayPal Holdings Inc, a payments company, shut down its services in Russia early Saturday, citing "the current circumstances," joining a slew of other financial and technology firms in suspending operations in the aftermath of Ukraine's invasion.

"Under the current circumstances, we are suspending PayPal services in Russia," said PayPal President and CEO Dan Schulman in a statement. He went on to say that the company "joins the international community in condemning Russia's violent military aggression in Ukraine."  PayPal will support withdrawals "for a period of time, ensuring that account balances are distributed in accordance with applicable laws and regulations," according to a company spokesperson.

PayPal, which previously only allowed cross-border transactions by Russian users, stopped accepting new Russian users on Wednesday. Ukrainian officials had been pleading with PayPal to leave Russia and assist them with fundraising.

"Since the beginning of the invasion, PayPal has helped raise over $150 million for charities supporting response efforts in Ukraine, one of the largest efforts we've seen in such a short period of time," PayPal added. PayPal's suspension in Russia extends to its money transfer service, Xoom. Wise and Remitly, competitors, had previously suspended some services in Russia.

Meanwhile, Visa and Mastercard announced on Saturday that they would suspend operations in Russia, dealing a new blow to the country's financial system following its invasion of Ukraine. The decision came after a request from Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier in the day, and it threatens to further isolate Russia's economy, which is already facing crippling financial sanctions and a slew of corporate boycotts.

Located in San Francisco, Visa announced in a statement that it will immediately begin working with clients and partners in Russia to halt all transactions in the coming days. After the process is completed, Visa cards issued in Russia will no longer work outside the country, and cards issued elsewhere in the world will no longer work within Russia.

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• Mastercard
• PayPal
• Russia
• Ukraine
• Visa
• Russia Ukraine crisis