American Express has said it is suspending all operations in Russia and Belarus over the Ukraine crisis.
Globally issued American Express cards will no longer work at merchants or ATMs in Russia, the company said in a statement.
AmEx cards issued locally in Russia by the country’s banks will also no longer work outside of Russia.
The company previously halted its relationships with banks in Russia impacted by sanctions.
For the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war, visit our live blog: Russia-Ukraine live
It follows similar moves imposed by Visa and Mastercard in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
PayPal shut its services in Russia yesterday as boss Dan Schulman said the company ‘stands with the international community in condemning Russia’s violent military aggression in Ukraine’.
Apple, Microsoft, Ikea and Puma have also followed suit, while Hollywood studios have postponed the release of new movies in the country.
Russia’s currency, the ruble, has hit new lows with inflation soaring and Russians pictured standing in huge queues outside cash machines.
Unprecedented Western sanctions imposed on Russia have frozen much of the country’s central bank’s £480 billion in assets.
Several Russian banks have been barred from global payments system SWIFT, which sent the ruble into free-fall, erasing a third of its value this week.
Meanwhile TikTok said today that users won’t be able to post new videos in Russia in response to the government’s crackdown on social media.
‘In light of Russia’s new “fake news” law, we have no choice but to suspend livestreaming and new content to our video service while we review the safety implications of this law,’ the company said in a statement on Twitter.
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