China’s UnionPay Reportedly Suspends Cooperation With Russian Banks Over Fear of Western Sanctions

[claireokc]

China’s largest credit card brand UnionPay has reportedly suspended its negotiations with Russian banks on issuing new bank cards for their customers over fear of Western sanctions. According to The Moscow Times, the Chinese credit processor has recently halted talks with some major Russian lenders, including Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank by assets, due to concerns about being implicated in “secondary sanctions.” Secondary sanctions are intended to prevent third parties from trading with sanctioned countries by threatening to cut off the third party’s access to the country that issued the sanctions. Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, payment giants Visa, Mastercard, and American Express have joined Western firms in suspending operations in Russia, leaving Russian banks with limited alternatives, such as China’s homegrown UnionPay. ...

Source: https://www.theepochtimes.com/chinas-un ... 32905.html