Russia-Ukraine crisis: Biden, in call with Zelenskiy, welcomes Visa, Mastercard decisions to suspend operations

US President Joe Biden, in a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, welcomed decisions by Visa and Mastercard to suspend their operations in Russia, the White House said on Saturday.

"President Biden noted his administration is surging security, humanitarian, and economic assistance to Ukraine and is working closely with Congress to secure additional funding," a White House readout of the call added.

Mastercard and Visa are suspending their operations in Russia. It's the latest blow to Russia's financial system after its attack on Ukraine. Mastercard said Saturday its cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by its network and any Mastercard issued outside the country will not work at Russian stores or ATMs.

“We don't take this decision lightly,” Mastercard said in a statement, adding that it made the move after discussions with customers, partners and governments.

Visa said it’s working with clients and partners in Russia to cease all Visa transactions over the coming days. Many other companies around the world have also made moves to up the financial pressure on Russia and its people because of its attack on Ukraine.

Earlier in the week, Visa and Mastercard had announced more limited moves to block financial institutions from the networks that serve as arteries for the payments system. Russian people have already been hit hard by heavy sanctions and financial penalties imposed by the US government and others.

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