PayPal suspends its services in Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine
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Katja Knupper | DeFodi Images | Getty Images |
PayPal announced on Saturday that it was suspending its services in Russia, adding to the list of companies leaving the country in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"Under the current circumstances, we are suspending PayPal services in Russia," said PayPal CEO Dan Schulman in a letter to the Ukrainian government.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, posted the letter on Twitter. Fedorov has pressured companies ranging from Apple to Microsoft to cut ties with Russia.
"So it's official: PayPal is shutting down its services in Russia, citing Ukraine aggression," Fedorov tweeted on Saturday. "Thank you for your help, @PayPal!"
A PayPal representative confirmed the company's closure in Russia. According to a company spokesperson, the company will "continue to work to process customer withdrawals for a period of time, ensuring that account balances are disbursed in accordance with applicable laws and regulations."
The payment processor had already announced that it would discontinue domestic services in Russia in 2020. This latest action relates to the company's remaining operations in the country, which include send and receive functions as well as the ability to make international transfers through PayPal's Xoom remittances platform.
Russians were barred from opening new PayPal accounts earlier this week, according to the company.
PayPal is the latest payment company to cut ties with Russia, which is now facing a slew of sanctions from the West in response to President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine.
Sanctions were imposed. SWIFT, the global interbank messaging network, has barred several Russian banks from its network, and Visa and Mastercard have announced this week that they will also bar Russian financial institutions from their networks.
"It's now virtually impossible to send money to any individual in Russia," said Charles Delingpole, CEO of ComplyAdvantage, a fintech firm that assists businesses with regulatory compliance.
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