Visa and Mastercard May Re-enter Russian Market After 2022 Exit

Visa and Mastercard may soon re-enter the Russian market and resume offering their services, according to Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, in a recent interview.
“I think they will return soon to offer their services, as they have lost a significant market and will try to regain access to it. It will be more challenging, though, since we have become accustomed to new systems. The national payment card system has proven its technological capabilities and efficiency,” he said.
Aksakov believes that Visa and Mastercard will still be needed for making payments to Europe and the U.S., as these are international networks. However, he pointed out that their re-entry into the Russian market won’t be straightforward, given that people have already grown accustomed to relying on Russia’s domestic payment system.
Visa and Mastercard stopped their operations in Russia in March 2022, following the geopolitical tensions and sanctions imposed by the West in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. The two global payment systems suspended their services, effectively halting the ability of Russian consumers to make international transactions or use their cards abroad. This came after a series of measures that targeted Russian banks and financial institutions, cutting them off from global payment networks.
In response to the departure of Visa and Mastercard, Russia accelerated the development and expansion of its own domestic payment system, the Mir payment system, which was launched in 2014. The government also encouraged the use of alternative payment services, including those from China, such as UnionPay, and domestic options, to replace Visa and Mastercard’s infrastructure. As a result, many Russian businesses and consumers switched to local systems for domestic payments, though international payments remained a challenge.
The decision to leave the Russian market was a significant one for Visa and Mastercard, as Russia represented a large and lucrative market for both companies. However, the ongoing sanctions and shifting geopolitical landscape made it difficult for these payment giants to continue operating in Russia.