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

Getting US green card to get tougher for Pinoy immigrants

NEW JERSEY, United States—For many Filipino immigrants, applying for a US permanent residency is tough as it is.

With a recent policy change under the administration of President Donald Trump, obtaining a green card or permanent residency just got tougher for those who may be deemed a public charge or public liability.

Immigration lawyer Michael Gurfinkel said applicants for permanent visas who fail to meet income standards or applicants who received public assistance could be rejected.

"Public charge means if a person receives certain public benefits during a 12 month period within the past three years, the Trump administration also expanded the list of benefits that a person applies for or received would make them a public charge," he said.

Among the items considered as public benefit in the Department of Homeland Security's revised definition of public charge are supplemental security income, temporary assistance to needy families, food stamps from the federal SNAP program, government-run health program Medicaid and subsidized housing.

"In the past, if a person had applied for and received those benefits they would not have been considered a public charge, now they may which would disqualify them from receiving a green card, possibly," Gurfinkel added.

For some Filipinos in New Jersey, they believed this policy change is at the center of Trump's efforts to reduce family-based legal immigration, especially for applicants coming from poor countries.

"It’s difficult enough to just come into the US and to give another aspect of difficulty to that policy eh 'di kawawa naman talaga for Filipinos who come to the US," said Lorena Mcrae of Migrante International, a global alliance of Filipino workers overseas.

Jersey City council president Rolando Lavarro said elderly Filipinos, especially war veterans applying for green card, are among those likely affected by the new policy.

"Now we’re saying, if you’re too poor, you’re not welcome here... A lot of immigrants have come here to this country, including Filipinos, through the process of family reunification," he said.

"We’ve never had a litmus test around the idea whether you’re able to pay your own way. It basically allows only the richest be able to come," he added.

If not in challenged in court, this policy change will take effect October 15.

Read more on Balitang America.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Bahrain stops issuing visas for Qatari nationals

DUBAI - Bahrain's interior ministry said on Tuesday that it would stop issuing new visas to Qatari nationals, escalating measures against Qatar more than a year into a diplomatic row.

The statement, carried on state news agency BNA, said Qatari students studying in the kingdom and other Qatari citizens with existing visas would not be affected.

It also said the move came in response "hostile acts" by Qatari authorities. It did not elaborate.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of financing terrorism. Doha denies that and says the boycott is an attempt to rein in its support for reform.

In October, Bahrain said it would impose entry visas on Qatari nationals as a security measure.

Citizens from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council countries are otherwise supposed to be able to travel within the GCC carrying only an identity card.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Visa outage blocks transactions across Europe

Payment systems giant Visa said it was experiencing problems processing transactions in Europe on Friday and was trying to fix the issue.

The blockage has left some customers stuck at the tills in stores across the continent.

"We are currently experiencing a service disruption which is preventing some Visa transactions in Europe from being processed," a Visa spokesman told AFP.

"We are investigating the cause and working as quickly as possible to resolve the situation."

Visa users have taken to social media to complain.

HSBC bank's UK Twitter account replied to a customer query saying: "From what we understand there are still intermittent issues but services are slowly recovering."

Paymentsense, which provides card machines, online payment gateways and virtual terminals to some 60,000 independent businesses in Britain and Ireland, advised users to try paying via contactless transactions.

"We have been informed that Visa has corrected the outage and transactions are now starting to go through. There is still some intermittency however, we believe this is due to a backlog of transactions," it said.

"We now understand that contactless transactions have a better chance of going through. We'd encourage affected customers to try contactless transactions where possible."

It is understood the Bank of England is aware of the issue and is in touch with Visa.

The Royal Bank of Scotland's help Twitter account said cash machine withdrawals were unaffected.

"This is an industry wide issue which is being investigated as a matter of urgency and we apologise for any inconvenience. ATM and MasterCard transactions are not impacted," it said.

In a Primark store on Berlin's Alexanderplatz, frustrated customers were queueing for 20 minutes to pay. Staff did not know why transactions were not going through.

However, in the neighbouring store, transactions were being processed without any problems.

Sandra Foy, who owns a bookshop in Manchester, northwest England, told Sky News television: "I run a small business and the loss of any business is a big deal for us.

"Not knowing when this is going to be sorted out is incredibly frustrating."

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source: news.abs-cbn.com

Why more Filipinos are shopping online

MANILA, Philippines - Whether it's shopping for shoes on Zalora or deals on Groupon, a growing number of Filipinos are opting to shop online.

A recent study conducted by global payments technology company Visa showed more Filipinos have tried online shopping, buoyed by improved perception in security of credit cards and debit cards.

The Visa e-Commerce Consumer Monitor Research 2012 showed the number of online transactions made by Filipinos have nearly doubled in the last 12 months. Now, 71% of Filipinos have made an online purchase, compared to 35% 12 months ago.

Iain Jamieson, Visa country manager for the Philippines, said the number is expected to go up to 86% in the next 12 months.

Most of the online purchases made by Filipinos were in travel (38%), fashion (30%) and personal electronics (28%). In terms of frequent online purchases, Filipinos bought movie tickets (27%), cosmetics (27%) and health products (26%).

Jamieson attributed the growth in online shopping in the Philippines to improved consumer perception of online security. Around 77% of those surveyed said they now feel more secure than 2 years ago, mainly due to the banks' protection of personal and financial data, as well as online security features such as Verified by Visa.

"While eCommerce is still in its early stages in the Philippines, we expect to see rapid growth across all purchase categories in the next year. However, there are still barriers to overcome for the eCommerce ecosystem in the Philippines to fulfill its potential. Besides increasing consumer trust in online merchants when it comes to product delivery, online payment security concerns also have to be addressed," Jamieson said.

"As we have seen in the survey, as important as it is to develop innovative solutions to improve security online, it is also crucial to communicate these measures frequently and effectively to the Filipino consumer, from both the banks and the merchants," he added.

When shopping online, 68% of Filipinos use a payment card. Credit cards are used more frequently (42%) than debit cards (34%).

With the popularity of smartphones and tablets, many Filipinos are going online to browse for products and services. Digital content was the most browsed item on mobile phones (40%), followed by personal electronics (33%) and household electronics (30%).

source: abs-cbnnews.com