MOSCOW, July 30 (RIA Novosti) – Washington’s newest update to the list of sanctioned Russian banks will not affect Visa or MasterCard operations in the country, the companies’ representative offices in Russia told RIA Novosti Wednesday.
“These sanctions prevent blacklisted banks from accessing US capital markets and do not affect our activities,” a MasterCard representative said.
Visa explained the US-imposed restrictions do not compel it to block operations at any Russian banks.
“The new package of US economic sanctions has no impact on Visa operations in Russia, neither does it require Visa to suspend or block operations of the sanctioned financial institutions and sponsored banks that provide services to cardholders,” the company told RIA Novosti.
Late on Tuesday, the United States unveiled new economic penalties for Russia. This round of sanctions targets three major banks – VTB Group, Bank of Moscow and the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank).
The new sanctions prohibit US citizens and legal entities from buying or selling new bonds, equity or similar financial instruments with maturities exceeding 90 days, issued by state-owned Russian banks, development banks, their subsidiaries or those acting on their behalf.
