Sanctions against Russians

[John Dunn]

There are, it seems, seven Russian banks that are affected by sanctions and which are no longer being serviced by Visa and MasterCard.  These include:
АКБ "Россия", "Собинбанк", "Инвесткапиталбанк", СМП Банк, "Финсервис".  (See http://www.newsru.com/russia/21mar2014/sankcii_banks.html)
Presumably their cards will not be accepted, but I am not aware of reasons why other cards should at present be refused.

There are two points, however.  The first is that individual cashiers and salespersons may err on the side of caution — just as Beriozka staff, knowing that they were not supposed to accept Scottish bank notes, would sometimes refuse to accept travellers' cheques issued by Scottish banks.  The second is that there are persistent reports that Russia is trying to set up its own payment system which would replace Visa and MasterCard, at least within the country.  This story may be a nudge in that direction.

John Dunn.
  
________________________________________
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Robert Chandler [kcf19 at DIAL.PIPEX.COM]
Sent: 03 April 2014 13:51
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: [SEELANGS] Sanctions against Russians

Dear all,

I heard this from a friend in Petersburg.
Вчера с утра по ТВ передали, что русские карты в Европе перестали обслуживать.

  In the UK, my Russian friends' bank cards are being accepted as always. Can anyone confirm whether or not this is also the case in other European countries?

All the best,

Robert


Robert Chandler, 42 Milson Road, London, W14 OLD




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