Apple Pay no longer available in Russia after sanctions

Clients of some Russian banks under western sanctions will no longer be able to use their cards abroad or with the Apple Pay or Google’s derivative mobile payment system, the Russian central bank said on Friday.

Alexander Marrow and Andrey Ostroukh for Reuters:

U.S., EU and British leaders targeted Russian banks with sanctions designed to punish Moscow for sending troops to Ukraine, a move that drew global condemnation and sent the rouble sinking to record lows.
The central bank said the debit and credit cards of sanctioned banks, which it listed as VTB, private lender Sovcombank, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank and Otkritie Bank, would keep working in Russia without restrictions.
“Cards from these banks will not be able to be used with the ApplePay [sic] and GooglePay [sic] services, but standard contact or contactless payment with these cards is available in full throughout Russia,” the central bank said.
The U.S. Treasury said on Thursday U.S. banks must sever their correspondent banking ties with Sberbank within 30 days, while Britain said it would impose asset freezes against all major Russian banks.

MacDailyNews Take: All nineteen Apple Pay and all zero Google Pay users in Russia are reportedly highly miffed.
Interns: Tap it, ASAP!
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