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Russian-issued Mastercard, Visa to keep functioning in Russia — Central Bank

However, trans-border operations will not be available

MOSCOW, March 6. /TASS/. Visa and Mastercard, issued by Russian banks, will remain operational in Russia, and money on their accounts is safe and accessible, the Central Bank of Russia said on Sunday.

"All cards of international payment systems Visa and Mastercard, issued by Russian banks, will function as normal on the territory of Russia until their expiry. Operations inside the country are processed by the National Payment Cards System and are not affected by sanctions. The money of clients, deposited on accounts linked to such cards, are fully safe and accessible," the regulator said.

Cardholders can withdraw cash from ATMs, pay with their cards and conduct card-to-card transactions.

However, trans-border operations will not be available. This applies to purchases in foreign online stores and use of those cards abroad.

Visa and Mastercard simultaneously announced their decision to suspend operations in Russia in the coming days on Saturday night.

All card payments in Russia are processed by the National Payment Card System and are independent from foreign payment systems.

The need to develop a national payment system in Russia was prompted by the US sanctions imposed in the spring of 2014. Due to the sanctions, the world’s two largest payment systems Visa and MasterCard blocked transactions with the cards of Russia’s Rossiya Bank, its subsidiary Sobinbank, and SMP Bank without any notice on March 21, 2014. The system went into operation in July 2014.

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