Google and Apple Are Taking Action to Prevent Russian Payments

Since 2014 Crimea is under the annexation of the Russian Federation, and the country has been obligated by severe economic sanctions from NATO. After that, the Central Bank of Russia released Mir cards that support payments across all of Russia, connected by 150 banks. Earlier this year, in February, Russia fully invaded Ukraine, and western countries took action by establishing even more limits. Mir cards were still online with the help of Apple or Google Pay, but some new decisions have been made. 

Google and Apple announced that they will be cutting off Mir cards from their online payments this week. Apple Pay will be suspended for users of this banking system, and Google followed the lead too. Since last year they have been establishing a plan on connecting Mir cards to the system, but now, the program has stopped because control over the situation is yet to be taken.

Nevertheless, Russians still have access to their money because the regular Visa and Mastercard systems will be up within the county’s borders. Despite that, Google and Apple being major world companies show what actions should be taken into consideration by all of the other businesses. This can possibly trigger other companies to withdraw from the Russian market, as many countries of the world have already stated their opinion against the invasion of Ukraine.

The direct results of these decisions are currently unknown, but we can say for sure that they will affect the daily life of regular Russian citizens. Mir cards take over 30 percent of cards attached to Russian financial establishments, so limits on online payment could involve economical changes. The Kremlin is still being silent on the matter of the problem, but it still has more difficult statements to resolve.  

Do you think more companies will establish sanctions? What other actions can we take against the invasion? Please, share your opinion in the comments below.