The events of recent days and the conflict that broke out following the invasion of Ukraine have prompted several countries to launch sanctions packages designed to target Russia. As we discuss what the next steps in this process designed to weaken Putin’s government might be, the first effects are beginning to be felt. The Russian Central Bank has in fact communicated that credit cards issued by a whole series of banks in the country can no longer be used with the payment services Apple Pay and Google Pay.
The institutions involved are, among others, VTB Group, Sovcombank, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank and Otkritie. Furthermore, all those in possession of credit cards linked to accounts of these banks will not be able to use them abroad or to make payments to companies based in all those States that have enacted these sanctions.
At the moment, in addition to the United States, Great Britain, the Member States of the European Union and Australia have also taken similar measures, effectively cutting out Russian users from the possibility of making payments to a very large part of the world of online services. . Instead, they will be able to continue to take advantage of local payment servicessuch as Sberbank Online and YooMoney.
These are not consequences capable of shifting the balance of a situation that probably requires much harsher measures – so much so that in the last few hours the hypothesis of excluding Russia from the SWIFT international and interbank payment system, used by many companies, has been strengthening. – but this like other news, for example those coming from the Mobile World Congress, testifies to the progressive isolation of Russia on a global level.
