While the Russia-Ukraine situation is already shaking up the civilized world, U.S. sanctions have led to an Apple Pay shut down for Russian banks. Customers of Russian banks can no longer use Apple Pay and Google Pay.
The sanctions have targeted the availability of digital payment services for these banks. As a result, Apple Pay has been shut down for Russia and its bank account holders. Business Insider reports that the Central Bank of Russia has also confirmed the shutdown.
Here’s a list of the affected Russian banks that can no longer use Apple Pay, Google, and Google Pay.
- Novikombank
- Otkritie
- Promsvyazbank
- Sovcombank
- VTB Group
The Central Bank has also confirmed that customers of these banks won’t be able to use their cards abroad or in any of the countries that have applied the sanctions. However, bank-issued physical cards and even contactless payment cards will work within Russia.
Ukraine wants Apple to shut App Store in Russia
Just before ‘Apple Pay shut down’ for Russian banks, Ukraine’s Deputy-Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook. The letter appeals to Apple to ban all of its services in Russia. He wrote that “modern technology is perhaps the best answer to tanks, multiple rocket launchers, and missiles.”
The letter also says that a shutdown of these services “will motivate Russia’s youth and active population” to stop the country’s attack on Ukraine.
While Apple hasn’t responded to the letter yet, several popular organizations and people boycott Russia. For starters, German F1 racer Sebastian Vettel boycotted the Russian GP after hearing of the attack. UEFA also shifted the Champions league venue from St. Petersburg to Paris. Lastly, a German football team removed a Russian company’s logo from its jersey.
Russia is also taking flak from the rest of the world. However, the situation was still escalating when reporting this story.
