Visa and Mastercard suspend Russian operations

Both Visa and Mastercard had already announced that they would comply with sanctions introduced by Western countries since the start of the conflict.

“Our colleagues, our customers and our partners have been affected in ways that most of us could not imagine,” Mastercard said.

The card company has operated in Russia for more than 25 years. It confirmed that it would continue to pay the wages of its 200 staff members there.

Visa added: “We regret the impact this will have on our valued colleagues, and on the clients, partners, merchants and cardholders we serve in Russia.”

US President Joe Biden “welcomed the decision” during a phone call with Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, according to a White House readout.

The payments giants’ announcement comes amid a widening corporate backlash to Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

PayPal also said on Saturday that it had shut down services in Russia but that it would support withdrawals “for a period of time”.

This would ensure that account balances were dispersed “in line with applicable laws and regulations”, it said.

The Ukrainian government had been calling on Paypal to quit Russia and help its officials with fundraising.