Binance suspends transactions with Russian Mastercard and Visa cards – Exchanges Bitcoin News
Crypto exchange Binance has blocked transactions with Mastercard and Visa cards issued in the Russian Federation. The trading platform announced the move after US payment giants decided to halt operations in Russia following its military invasion of Ukraine.
Russians can’t use their Mastercard and Visa cards on Binance
Starting Wednesday, March 9, all transactions initiated with Mastercard and Visa cards issued in Russia will be unavailable on Binance. The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume explained that this was due to the decision of US payment processors to suspend operations in the Russian Federation.
The platform further noted that all transactions initiated with Mastercard and Visa cards issued by financial institutions outside of Russia will not be available on Binance in the country, also in accordance with policy changes announced by the two service companies. financial.
The restrictions only apply to Binance’s crypto-fiat service, Forklog reported, citing a company representative. Merchants will still be able to use Russian cards in person-to-person transactions, with the exception of those issued by sanctioned banking institutions, the spokesperson said.
Amid an ongoing Russian military assault on Ukraine, Kiev has appealed to crypto exchanges to freeze the accounts of all Russian users. While some platforms, such as the American Coinbase and the South Koreans Upbit and Bithumb have imposed restrictions, major global exchanges like Binance and Kraken have rejected the request for unilateral freezing of the accounts of all users based in Russia.
As the West expands financial sanctions against Moscow, the Russians have turned their attention to the digital asset market with reports revealing an increase in Russian ruble trading, including on Binance. Earlier in March, its founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao said the exchange was following sanctions rules without limiting access to ordinary Russian citizens who were not on sanctions lists.
Binance has also been actively involved in funding humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. The exchange announced the donation of $10 million for the Ukrainian people suffering from the military conflict and the Binance Charity Foundation donated $2.5 million worth of cryptocurrency to Unicef.
You can support Ukrainian families, children, refugees, and displaced people by donating BTC, ETH, and BNB to Binance Charity’s Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund.
Do you expect Russian traders to face more restrictions on cryptocurrency exchanges in the future? Tell us in the comments section below.
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