Visa, Mastercard suspend operations in Russia: statements

Card payment giants Visa and Mastercard announced Saturday they will suspend operations in Russia, the latest major US firms to join the business freeze-out of Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

"Noting the unprecedented nature of the current conflict and the uncertain economic environment," Mastercard said it had "decided to suspend our network services in Russia."

Visa, for its part, said that "effective immediately" it would "work with its clients and partners within Russia to cease all Visa transactions over the coming days."

US President Joe Biden "welcomed the decision" during a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in which the two discussed US, ally and private industry actions to deter Russia from aggression, according to a White House readout.

Major corporations across a range of industries have halted business in Russia since its invasion began 10 days ago, including everything from US-based tech firms such as Intel and Airbnb to French luxury giants LVMH, Hermes and Chanel.

Visa and Mastercard had already announced that they were complying with US and international sanctions imposed on Russia in the wake of its attack.

"Our colleagues, our customers and our partners have been affected in ways that most of us could not imagine," Mastercard said, stating that its cards issued by Russian banks would no longer be supported by the company's network.

Visa similarly said that cards issued in Russia would no longer work outside the country.

Both companies said cards issued abroad would no longer work in Russia.

Russian banks downplay effects

"We are compelled to act following Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed," Visa CEO Al Kelly said.

Russia's major banks, including its largest lender Sberbank and the Russia Central Bank, downplayed the effects that the cards' suspensions would have on their clients.

"All Visa and Mastercard bank cards issued by Russian banks will continue to operate normally on Russian territory until their expiration date," the Russia Central Bank said.

Sberbank said in a statement on its official Telegram account that the cards "can be used for operations in the Russian territory -- to withdraw cash, make transfers using the card number, and for payment at offline as well as at online Russian stores."

The cards would continue to work on Russian territory, it said, because all payments in Russia are made through a national system and do not depend on foreign systems.

However, the central bank warned that Russians traveling abroad should carry alternate means of payment.

Mastercard added that it would continue to provide pay and benefits to its nearly 200 employees in Russia.

Agence France-Presse

Mastercard, Visa halt processing payments on Pornhub

Mastercard Inc and Visa Inc on Thursday stopped processing payments on Pornhub after a New York Times article said many videos posted on the adult website depicted sexual assault of children.

Mastercard said it was permanently ending the use of its cards on the sex videos site after its investigation confirmed the presence of illegal content on the platform. Visa said it was suspending payments till an investigation was completed.

"We are instructing the financial institutions who serve MindGeek (Pornhub parent) to suspend processing of payments through the Visa network," Visa said in a statement.

Pornhub did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The New York Times article had also described some videos on the site as recordings of assaults on unconscious women and girls.

Pornhub has denied the allegations but said it had banned video downloads and was allowing only certain partner accounts to upload content.

-reuters-

More companies back away from Facebook's Libra coin

SAN FRANCISCO -- Facebook's digital currency alliance lost more companies on Friday amid heavy criticism from regulators around the world on the planned Libra global cryptocurrency.

Credit card giants Visa and Mastercard, online marketplace eBay and digital payments firm Stripe each announced they had changed their minds about being founding members of the Libra Association assembled to promote the digital currency.

"Mastercard has decided it will not become a member of the Libra Association at this time," the company said in an emailed statement.

"We remain focused on our strategy and our own significant efforts to enable financial inclusion around the world. We believe there are potential benefits in such initiatives and will continue to monitor the Libra effort."

A Visa spokesperson offered a similar statement, indicating the company was dropping out of the alliance but could rejoin in the future.

"We will continue to evaluate and our ultimate decision will be determined by a number of factors, including the association's ability to fully satisfy all requisite regulatory expectations," Visa said.

Silicon Valley-based eBay said: "We highly respect the vision of the Libra Association; however, eBay has made the decision to not move forward as a founding member."

Stripe also said it would follow the progress of Libra and remain open to working with the association at a later date.

"Stripe is supportive of projects that aim to make online commerce more accessible for people around the world," Stripe said. "Libra has this potential."

FIERCE SCRUTINY

Libra Association confirmed that the companies would no longer be founding members, but said that it would continue building an alliance of businesses, social-good organizations, and others to implement the cryptocurrency.

The original list of founding members was cut to 23 factoring in the departures from the group on Friday.

"Although the makeup of the association members may grow and change over time, the design principle of Libra's governance and technology, along with the open nature of this project, ensures the Libra payment network will remain resilient," spokesman Dante Disparte said in response to an AFP inquiry.

"We are focused on moving forward... to achieve a safe, transparent, and consumer-friendly implementation of a global payment system that breaks down financial barriers for billions of people."

An list of founding members is to be announced at an inaugural Libra Association council meeting on Monday, according to Disparte.

The departures on Friday came after US senators sent letters to several financial firms noting that they could face "a high level of scrutiny from regulators" if they participated in the new currency plan.

Last week, digital payments firm PayPal said it was quitting the alliance of companies and organizations promoting Libra.

Facebook executives have claimed the new digital coin could help lower costs for global money transfers and help those without access to the banking system.

French economy and finance minister Bruno Le Maire has warned that under current circumstances, Libra posed a threat to the "monetary sovereignty" of governments and could not be authorized in Europe.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify October 23 hearing in the US House of Representatives on the Libra plan.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Libra partners reconsider as governments grumble: report

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Mastercard, Visa and other financial partners being enlisted to oversee Facebook-backed cryptocurrency Libra are having second thoughts as regulators unleash ire on the project, according to a report Tuesday.

A Libra Association created by Facebook to independently manage the digital money still had its initial group of backers on Tuesday.

But a Wall Street Journal report said some of those on it were reconsidering their roles due to opposition expressed by governments digging for information about the project.

Visa referred AFP to comments made by chief executive Alfred Kelly in an interview in August with CNBC in which he said the company had signed a non-binding letter of intent with the association but was "not a member of anything."

Kelly went on to say Visa would not join the association if it isn't satisfied when it comes to complying with regulations.

The association, which is working on a charter that will outline involvement by founding members, declined to comment and Mastercard did not immediately respond to a query.

The head of the Libra Association said last week that the project's leaders aimed to "reassure" regulators worried about the virtual money. 

Bertrand Perez, director general of the Geneva-based non-profit association, said Libra will be backed by a basket of currency assets and short-term government bonds to avoid the wild swings seen with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Hashing out details

Facebook's plans for Libra have meet with concern by governments and critics of the social network behemoth, whose reputation has been tarnished by its role in spreading fake information and extremist videos.

Last month, France's economy and finance minister Bruno Le Maire warned that under current circumstances Libra posed a threat to the "monetary sovereignty" of governments and could not be authorized in Europe.

Officials have also raised concerns about how the currency would be regulated, particularly how it would comply with regulations about combatting money laundering and financing of terrorism. 

"We are carrying out a normal course of work with regulators to show them that, in terms of anti-money laundering, the (Libra) system will be at least equivalent to the conventional monetary system," Perez said.

Besides Facebook, backers of Libra include payment giants Visa, MasterCard and PayPal, as well as ride-hailing apps Lyft and Uber.

The Libra Association is set to expand, as over 100 companies and organizations have expressed an interest in joining, Perez said.

Facebook has promoted Libra as an opportunity to provide online commerce and financial services at minimal cost to more than a billion "unbanked" people -- adults without bank accounts or those who use services outside the banking system such as payday loans to make ends meet.

In leaked comments from a meeting of Facebook employees in July, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said he remained optimistic for Libra despite harsh comments from public officials in several countries.

"The public things, I think, tend to be a little more dramatic," he said.

"But a bigger part of it is private engagement with regulators around the world, and those, I think, often, are more substantive and less dramatic... That's where a lot of the discussions and details get hashed out on things."

source: news.abs-cbn.com